Disney's "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," the latest installment of the blockbuster space saga franchise, premiered in Shanghai on Sunday while its global box office haul hit the US$1 billion at record pace, China.org.cn reported from Shanghai.

Leading actors Daisy Ridley and John Boyega, director J.J. Abrams, producer Kathleen Kennedy and droid BB-8 pose for photo on the stage with audiences and fans at the Chinese premiere of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" at the Shanghai Grand Theatre in Shanghai, on Dec. 27, 2016. [China.org.cn]

Walt Disney Studios held a grand premiere ceremony in Shanghai with director J.J. Abrams, leading actors Daisy Ridley and John Boyega, as well as producer Kathleen Kennedy and special guest star Donnie Yen with droids BB-8 and R2-D2 all walking the red carpet amid cheering fans.

Before they stepped into the Shanghai Grand Theatre to meet the first batch of VIP guests and fans who would see the new film for the first time in an advance screening, the nearby landmark hotel Le Royal Meridien Shanghai, housed by one of the tallest buildings in China, the 333.3-meter-high Shimao International Plaza, lit up two huge "lightsabers" on the top of the building, which could be seen everywhere in the city. The "lightsabers," two decorated spires of the building, will keep lighting up at night -- one in red and one in blue light -- until Jan. 1, 2016, another marketing campaign after Disney lit up Beijing's Great Wall in October.

Director J.J. Abrams, producer Kathleen Kennedy, leading actors Daisy Ridley and John Boyega together with droids BB-8 and R2-D2 pose for a photo on the red carpet outside the Shanghai Grand Theatre at the Chinese premiere of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" held in Shanghai, on Dec. 27, 2016. [China.org.cn]

The crew of the film greeted the fans before the advance screening. Many fans were dressed like popular characters from the films, such as storm troopers, Princess Leia, Jedi, Chewbacca and Darth Vader. Donnie Yen also stepped on stage and said he is one of the cast members of the upcoming "Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One," a standalone story. The film will premiere next Christmas. Another famous Chinese actor-and-director Jiang Wen is also in the cast.

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens," an exciting film while with huge nostalgia aspects, brought back classic characters such as Han Solo played by Harrison Ford. The crowd cheered and applauded every time any classic character appeared on the temporarily installed IMAX screen during the screening in Shanghai.

As the China premiere ended, the film had already created the largest second weekend of all-time in the North America and the world. The film has now grossed more than US$544 million domestically and another US$546 million internationally, totaling over US$1 billion in worldwide ticket sales in just 12 days, the box office tracking website BoxOfficeMojo.com reported.

Chinese star Donnie Yen joins the force with the crew of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" on stage at the Chinese premiere of the film, held at the Shanghai Grand Theatre in Shanghai, on Dec. 27, 2016. [China.org.cn]

Topping the weekend for a second straight weekend with an estimated US$153.5 million, "Star Wars 7" is now the second highest grossing domestic release of 2015, behind "Jurassic World," with US$544.5 million and the 15th highest grossing worldwide release of all-time. It's also now the record holder for the largest second weekend of all-time, besting "Jurassic World's" previous record by a massive US$46.9 million. In fact, the records are piling up so quickly that it's becoming ridiculous as it is now the fastest movie to cross US$100, US$150, US$200, US$300, US$350, US$400, US$450 and US$500 million as well as holds the largest three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine and ten day grosses.

The Chinese release date of the new installment of the "Star Wars" saga is set for Jan. 9, 2016. The Chinese performance will decide how high the worldwide total of the film can go as China is the second largest film market in the world.

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