--- description: The seventh installment in the space saga became the highest-grossing domestic film of all time. title: 'The Force Awakens' Now the Highest-Grossing Domestic Film image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt65409ad58d1126a4/698877f58e06013987464036/gettyimages-501957108.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _Star Wars: The Force Awakens_ is Now the Highest-Grossing Domestic Film Ever by [Mark Rivett-Carnac](/author/mark-rivett-carnac/) ## Mark Rivett-Carnac Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 7, 2016 7:43 AM CUT  'Star Wars' fans raise their lightsabers in Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles, Calif., on Dec. 18, 2015. 'Star Wars' fans raise their lightsabers in Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles, Calif., on Dec. 18, 2015.Robyn Beck—AFP/Getty Images by [Mark Rivett-Carnac](/author/mark-rivett-carnac/) ## Mark Rivett-Carnac Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 7, 2016 7:43 AM CUT _Star Wars: The Force Awakens_ broke a new record Wednesday. The seventh installment in the space saga became the[ highest-grossing ](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/star-wars-the-force-awakens-becomes-highest-grossing-domestic-film-of-all-time/ "undefined")film in North America, shooting past _Avatar’s_ $760.5 million lifetime domestic haul in just 20 days. Since its Dec. 18 debut in the U.S. and Canada, the movie crushed a series of records, according to a Disney [press release](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/star-wars-the-force-awakens-becomes-highest-grossing-domestic-film-of-all-time/ "undefined"). It was the fastest film to reach $100 million, doing so in 21 hours. It also pulled in the biggest opening week at $391 million. ### Rare Photos of George Lucas Behind the Scenes of Star Wars  George Lucas and Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) on the set of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope in a galaxy far, far away. Lucasfilm  Lucas gives direction to Sir Alec Guinness (Obi-Wan Kenobi) in Episode IV. Lucasfilm  Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) and Harrison Ford (Han Solo) sit around Lucas on the set of The Empire Strikes Back. Lucasfilm  Lucas with Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), along with Hamill and Ford on the set of Episode IV. Lucasfilm  Lucas directs Peter Cushing (Grand Moff Tarkin) and Carrie Fisher. Lucasfilm  Harrison Ford and Lucas share a moment in Endor on the set of Return of the Jedi. Lucasfilm  Lucas on set filming the opening scene of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. Lucasfilm  Lucas reviews concept art for Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones. Lucasfilm  Lucas inspects a model pod racer for Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. Lucasfilm  Lucas makes sure that the Death Star is fully armed and operational for Return of the Jedi. Lucasfilm  Lucas holds up Jango Fett's helmet. Lucasfilm  Natalie Portman (Queen Amidala) and Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi) listen to Lucas' directions on the set of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. Lucasfilm  Lucas directs a lightsaber battle between Ian McDiarmid (Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious) and Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu) on the set of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. Lucasfilm  Lucas sets up camp next to a Bantha on the set of Episode IV. Lucasfilm  Lucas finds the droid he was looking for. Lucasfilm But one title still eludes _The Force Awakens_: the highest-grossing film of all time. Its current $1.5 billion global haul is short of _Avatar’s_ record-setting $2.8 billion, according to [_Variety_](http://variety.com/2016/film/news/star-wars-box-office-avatar-biggest-movie-all-time-1201673235/ "undefined"). But those rankings might change after Jan. 9 when the new _Star Wars_ film opens in China, the world’s [second largest movie market](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-06/one-place-star-wars-won-t-break-box-office-record-is-china "undefined"). And Disney has more in store for the franchise it bought from Lucasfilm for $4 billion in 2012\. The studio [plans](http://time.com/4164754/star-wars-movie-release-dates/ "undefined") to release one movie a year for the next five years. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4170698/star-wars-the-force-awakens-domestic-box-office-record/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4170698/star-wars-the-force-awakens-domestic-box-office-record/"},"headline":"Star Wars: The Force Awakens is Now the Highest-Grossing Domestic Film Ever","datePublished":"2016-01-07T07:43:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:00:39.501Z","description":"But one record still eludes the space saga","url":"https://time.com/4170698/star-wars-the-force-awakens-domestic-box-office-record/","keywords":["movies","Star Wars topic","Avatar","The Force Awakens"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt65409ad58d1126a4/698877f58e06013987464036/gettyimages-501957108.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mark Rivett-Carnac","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/mark-rivett-carnac/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt65409ad58d1126a4/698877f58e06013987464036/gettyimages-501957108.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TOPSHOT-US-ENTERTAINMENT-FILM-STAR WARS","caption":"TOPSHOT-US-ENTERTAINMENT-FILM-STAR WARS","creditText":"Robyn Beck—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4170698/star-wars-the-force-awakens-domestic-box-office-record/","name":"Star Wars: The Force Awakens is Now the Highest-Grossing Domestic Film Ever"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Star Wars Behind the Scenes: On Set With BB-8","description":"On Set With BB-8","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/5izeYaFu/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-12-03T12:00:04.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/5izeYaFu.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4170698/star-wars-the-force-awakens-domestic-box-office-record/","duration":"PT31S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4170698/star-wars-the-force-awakens-domestic-box-office-record/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```