FORCE AWAKENS Breaks Multiple Records In 2nd Weekend; All-Time Looms

Jeff Huston

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(UPDATED with final numbers)

Star Wars: The Force Awakens continues to demolish records, racking up several in its second weekend:

  • Best 10-Day Gross, $540.3 million
    • (Previous Record: Jurassic World, $402.8 million)
  • Fastest to $500 million, 10 days
    • (Previous Record: Jurassic World, 17 days)
  • Fastest to $400 million, 8 days
    • (Previous Record: Jurassic World, 10 days)
  • Biggest 2nd Weekend, $149.2 million
    • (Previous Record: Jurassic World, $106.5 million)
  • Best Christmas Day, $49.3 million
    • (Previous Record: Sherlock Holmes – 2009, $24.6 million)
  • Fastest to $1 billion worldwide, 12 days (it opened in Europe two days before the U.S.)
    • (Previous Record: Jurassic World, 13 days)

In addition to all of that:

  • The Force Awakens is now the highest-grossing Star Wars movie of all-time, lightspeeding past the entire gross of $474.5 million set by the previous top episode, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.
    • It’s now also the first time that creator George Lucas has not been the director of the top-grossing movie in the saga. His Episode I and original Star Wars: A New Hope are now 2nd and 3rd.
  • The Force Awakens is now the #5 Movie of All-Time (domestic).

But the biggest stat of all? The Force Awakens is now just $221 million from passing Avatar‘s $760.5 million to become the #1 Movie of All Time (domestic). At this rate, after just 10 days – and no let up in sight – it’s not so much a question of “if” it’ll pass Avatar, but how soon?

So with that likelihood, here’s the real high-stakes goal moving forward:

Does the 7th installment of this spectacularly rejuvenated franchise have enough Force left in it – a.k.a. $460 million – to become the first movie ever to haul in $1 billion in North America alone? Even in the most loftiest projections, that possibility was never broached. It’s still a long-shot to get there, but the fact that it’s even possible at this point says everything about how the culture has embraced J.J. Abrams‘ take on our most enduring mythology.

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