Star Wars: Force Awakens becomes Disney’s top earner

In the first weekend of 2016, the record-busting film blew past the domestic grosses of both “Jurassic World” and “Titanic” to become the second-highest earner of all time with $740.3 million in just 19 days of release.

Disney’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” pulled in another $88.3M at the domestic box-office this week, screening at 4,134 locations. It should take the crown from “Avatar” early next week.

Lucas was behind the first six movies before selling the rights for $4bn (£2.7bn) in 2012 to Disney which made the most recent film, The Force Awakens.

Paramount Pictures’ comedy “Daddy’s Home” came in at number-two for the second week in a row, beating out the new releases and earning $29M at the domestic box-office.

Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight also looks to have earned $3.2 million, although numbers weren’t immediately available because of reporting issue with Rentrak. Even more formidable is the mere 11 percent drop from the Tina Fey and Amy Poehler comedy “Sisters”, which brought in $12.6 million in its third weekend for a fourth-place spot. The film has already grossed $744 Million & is estimated to make another $34M to $35M today.

Despite its wonky premise, “The Big Short” appears to be an awards season breakout. The latest “Chipmunk” family-friendly installment stars Jason Lee, Jesica Ahlberg and Josh Green. Paramount is releasing the film, which stars Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Christian Bale as savvy investors who bet against the housing market and won.

Will Smith-starrer Concussion, from Sony and Village Roadshow Pictures, grossed $1.6 million from 2,841 theaters for a total of of $17.4 million. Will Smith stars as a crusading doctor who takes on professional football for its indifference to the health and safety of its players. The Universal title grossed an estimated $2.3 million from 2,962 locations for a total approaching $50 million. The bloody revenge epic stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy and is directed by “Birdman’s” Alejandro G. Innarritu. The current total for the $30 million production stands at $61.7 million. It opens nationwide next weekend. The current per-screen average for an IMAX screen is a stunning $226,000 and counting. The film was directed by Walt Becker.