Star Wars spinoff ‘Rogue One’ has already grossed $29 million in the United States

The highly anticipated Star Wars spinoff “Rogue One” is off to a forceful start at the box office, a good sign for the Walt Disney Co.’s first so-called standalone movie as it seeks to expand the lucrative film series.

“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” grossed an estimated $29 million in domestic ticket sales Thursday night from showings that started at 7 p.m. — the biggest preshow result since the last Star Wars movie.

The new film, which follows a band of rebels that must steal the Death Star plans, is expected to take in about $150 million through Sunday in the United States and Canada, according to pre-release audience tracking earlier this week, but those estimates could prove to be conservative. The movie is also poised to score an additional $150 million in international sales.

While the fan base has been energized to see the first of multiple planned spinoffs from the Lucasfilm franchise, no one expected “Rogue One” to match the grosses of last year’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

That J.J. Abrams-directed epic — the first Star Wars pictures in a decade — debuted to a record-breaking $57 million.

Nonetheless, “Rogue One” is outpacing “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” which scored $27.7 million from Thursday showings on its way to a $166-million opening weekend. “Rogue” also bested “Captain America: Civil War’s” $25-million preshow, which led to the best domestic opening of 2016 so far ($179 million).

“Rogue One” has also opened in 47 other countries around the world and has hauled in $33 million, including $5 million from Britain and $3.6 million from Australia. It opens in China on Jan. 6.

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