Disney Stock Volatile As 'Star Wars' Heads For $50 Million-Plus Thursday Night Opening

Walt Disney Co DIS shares had a volatile trading day in Thursday's session, as J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens headed toward a $50 million-$55 million Thursday-night opening. The movie rolled out in over thousands of the North American theaters, a record number which could reach up to $60 million. The company's share price wavered throughout the day, hitting an intraday low range of $111.98 and an intraday high of $114.48. DIS shares closed down 1.56 percent at $112.01 with 9,307,241 shares getting traded. The previous record-holder for a Thursday night preview was the Deathly Hallows' Part 2 and Harry Potter, which earned $43.5 million in 2011. The Dark Knight Rises raked in $30.6 million in 2012, and Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 took in $30.4 million, also in 2012. Disney's post opening trading session was at $114.13. The leading media and entertainment conglomerate has a market cap of $185,172 million. The number of Disney's outstanding shares is nearly 1,653,177,900 shares. Star Wars arrives just in time for the holidays. Investors could benefit well from many widely-known stocks as Star Wars: The Force Awakens is forecasted to bring in $2 billion in sales global. Disney acquired Lucasfilm, the maker of Star Wars, for $4 billion in 2012. Disney shares have been up 19 percent since the beginning of this year, as Star Wars fever reached worldwide. Merchandise from the film alone is expected to reach $5 billion in revenue. Walt Disney Company's 52-week high is $122.08 and the 52-week low is $90.