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Boosted by an audience that wanted to see the year's biggest movie on the country's biggest screens, the new "Star Wars" movie has shattered domestic box-office records and looks poised to conquer China as well. Turns out, when approaching the limits of how much a movie can make, size matters — a lot, according to ibtimes.com.

The most anticipated film of the year, J.J. Abrams' "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" surged to an estimated $238 million opening weekend — the best domestic performance ever, according to data from film and TV analytics firm Rentrak. That beat "Jurassic World," which took in about $209 million just this past June. "Star Wars" hauled in a global box office of $517 million, which fell short of "Jurassic World," but unlike the dinosaur adventure film, "Star Wars" didn’t have the advantage of feasting on the Chinese audience during its opening weekend. The movie opens there Jan. 9.

The "Star Wars" boom will certainly redeem the final box-office numbers of what's been a disappointing 2015. Early returns have already made the Walt Disney Co.'s $4 billion purchase of "Star Wars" creator Lucasfilm in 2012 look like one of the better business deals of the decade. And despite the fact that the movie seemed to be playing everywhere — opening in 4,134 theaters — it reeled in more than $57,000 per theater, which was the most ever for a wide release.

But "Star Wars" also loomed large — literally — which is what really propelled its otherworldly performance. About half the American audience experienced "Star Wars" through some type of premium viewing experience, such as Imax 3D. A full 47 percent of tickets were sold for 3D showings, 12 percent were for Imax and 7 percent for other large formats. And the extra few bucks fans were willing to pay for those enhanced experiences was what carried "Star Wars" to its boffo domestic performance, and could also mean the film is poised to smash expectations in China, as well.