After crushing Thursday preview records and boosting last year’s overall box office sales in North America to the highest ever, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is on track this week to hit its biggest milestone yet.
Ticket sales for the latest movie in the acclaimed series will likely pass those of Avatar, the highest-grossing film ever in theaters in the U.S. And Canada.
After opening Dec. 18, Disney’s The Force Awakens has generated $740.3 million domestically, which leaves it $10 million short of Avatar’s sales in the U.S. And Canada, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The Force Awakens has managed to reach $700 million in 16 days. It took Avatar 72 days to achieve that figure.
Globally, Avatar grossed $2.8 billion. So far, The Force Awakens has generated $1.5 billion worldwide, and whether it’s able to surpass Avatar‘s global total will depend largely on how it performs in China, where the Star Wars brand is less known and where the new movie starts showing next weekend.
