'Star Wars' Shatters Record to Be Nation's Highest Grossing Film

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” became the highest- grossing film in domestic box office history today, surpassing the $760.5 million record set by director James Cameron’s epic “Avatar.”

According to The Walt Disney Co., early box office receipts from today pushed “Star Wars” to the record level, although exact figures have not yet been released. As of Tuesday, the film had grossed $758.2 million domestically.

Internationally, the film grossed $799.1 million through Tuesday, giving it a global total of more than $1.55 billion, according to Disney.

According to the studio, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” has set the following domestic box office records:

-- fastest film to reach $100 million (21 hours), $200 million (three days), $300 million (five days), $400 million (eight days), $500 million (10 days), $600 million (12 days) and $700 million (16 days);

-- biggest all-time and biggest December debut ($247.97 million);

-- biggest second weekend of all time ($149.2 million);

-- biggest third weekend of all time ($90.2 million);

-- biggest Thursday preview gross ($57 million);

-- biggest Friday opening ($119.1 million);

-- biggest Sunday ($60.5 million), Monday ($40.1 million) and Tuesday (37.3 million);

-- biggest Christmas Day ($49.3 million) and New Year’s Day ($34.39 million);

-- biggest opening week ($390.85 million); and

-- biggest IMAX debut ($30.1 million).

City News Service