Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has dominated the global box office, opening to $US290.5 million ($A397 million) worldwide, and capturing first place in all of the markets in which it played.

That ranks as the fourth-highest December international opening in history, behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Avatar, and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

But the spinoff still fell short of The Force Awakens’ otherworldy debut in 2015, which set a new global record, kicking off to $US529 million ($A723.5 million).

But Rogue One is something of a different beast. It is the first standalone adventure, and, unlike The Force Awakens, didn’t have any actors from the original series. That film brought back Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill in key roles.

Rogue One follows a band of rebels as they try to uncover a flaw in the design of a deadly new weapon. It opened in nearly every major market, with the exceptions of South Korea and China. Disney backed the $US200 million ($A273.6 million) production, which stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, and Ben Mendelsohn.

In second place, The Great Wall picked up $US67.4 million ($A92.2 million) after opening in China. The film cost $US150 million ($A205.2 million) to produce and is backed by Legendary, Universal, China Film Group, and Le Vision Pictures. It is the most expensive co-production ever and stars Matt Damon as a soldier battling an army of monsters.

Paramount’s Office Christmas Party nabbed third place, earning $US34.8 million ($A47.6 million) from 51 territories to bring its global haul to $US84.2 million ($A115.3 million).

Disney’s Moana and Warner Bros.’ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them rounded out the top five, earning $US15.5 million ($A21.2 million) and $US14.5 million ($A19.8 million), respectively.

The animated adventure has now made $US280.2 million ($A383.5 million) globally, while the Harry Potter spinoff has racked up $US717.5 million ($A982 million).