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Earlier on Wednesday, Disney said that domestic ticket sales
for the "Star Wars" movie had reached $758.2 million through
Tuesday, and would top the record of $760.5 million set by the
2009 release of "Avatar" on Wednesday.
"The Force Awakens" has taken in $1.5 billion so far globally,
and is already the fourth highest-grossing movie of all time
after just three weeks in release, Disney said.
To beat the global record haul of $2.8 billion for "Avatar,"
"The Force Awakens" must play well in China, where it opens on
Saturday, box office analysts have said.
"The Force Awakens," the seventh movie in the 40-year-old
franchise, opened at theaters in much of the world on Dec. 16
after a mammoth marketing campaign and glowing reviews.
It reunites original cast members Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher
and Mark Hamill as well as introducing new characters who are
expected to develop the sci-fi saga through at least three more
new movies.
Creator George Lucas sold the franchise to Disney in 2012 for
$4.05 billion.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles and Jill Serjeant in
New York; Additional reporting by Sneha Banerjee in Bengaluru;
Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Jeffrey Benkoe and Bill Rigby)
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