‘Star Wars: Force Awakens’ takes over ‘Avatar’ box office record

While The Force Awakens has been on a tear domestically, it still has a ways to go before catching Avatar’s global box office record.

Disney said the seventh installment in the “Star Wars” franchise had earned $764.4 million in ticket sales from the USA and Canada by Wednesday, surpassing the earlier record of $760.5 million earned by James Cameron’s Oscar-winning sci-fi epic “Avatar”. It also holds USA records for the biggest opening-Friday/single-day record ($119.1 million), biggest opening weekend ($390.85 million), and fastest to gross $1 billion globally (12 days). The movie could potentially unseat Avatar if it performs well in China, where it is set to debut on Saturday.

And that’s without the second biggest movie market in the world, China. The Force Awakens, which made $8 million yesterday alone, is blowing past Avatar today.

The worldwide record still belongs to “Avatar”, though, and that may continue.

Star Wars fans have kept a galaxy far, far away alive for close to 40 years. Beyond its box office success, The Force Awakens seems to have gotten things off on the right foot.

“The Force Awakens” has broken record on top of record since opening in mid-December.

Still, even with people seeing The Force Awakens just a few times, the film remains on an impressive pace to become the highest-grossing movie of all time.

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is in 21st place behind classics such as “The Sound of Music”, “E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial” and “Titanic”.

“Star Wars: A New Hope” now sits comfortably in the runner-up spot, with inflation-adjusted domestic earnings topping $1.5 billion.