‘Star Wars’ becomes highest grossing US movie ever

Move over Avatar, there’s a new force in town. In just 20 days in theatres, Star Wars: The Force Awakens has unseated the James Cameron pic as the number one North American movie of all time.

According to Disney, J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars earned enough on Wednesday to pass Avatar’s $760.5 million (Dh2.7 billion) lifetime gross. As of Tuesday, the film was just shy of the record at $758.2 million.

The worldwide record still belongs to Avatar, though, and that may continue. The Force Awakens has earned $1.6 billion to date, as compared to Avatar’s $2.8 billion.

Star Wars will open in China on January 9, which will give the film a significant boost, but some analysts are predicting that the film might now net out in the mid-$2 billion range.