Star Wars is About to Shatter Avatar's U.S. Box Office Record

As of today, Star Wars: The Force Awakens has grossed $740,265,583 in the United States since its release. “Wow,” you might be thinking. “That’s a lot of money.” Yes, you’re right, but that sentiment doesn’t quite cover it. Context is necessary, and the context is this: The only film in movie history to gross more money on American turf is Avatar, which currently “leads” at $760 million and change. But Avatar isn’t long for the top spot—this weekend alone, Star Wars grossed $88.3 million, which means J.J. Abrams, Buena Vista, and the whole space crew are in Millennium Falcon hyperdrive mode, and Avatar is one of those streaky elongated stars that will soon be in the rearview mirror (or whatever backward-looking tech spaceships employ).

Nothing, short of a world-destroying laser bomb, can stop Star Wars from ascending to the top spot, and I guess the next question is whether it will become the first film with a lifetime gross of $1 billion domestic dollars. Worldwide, The Force Awakens is currently at sixth place with $1.5 billion. Third place is an inevitability at this point, but there’s work to be done before it catches Titanic ($2.1 billion) and Avatar ($2.7 billion).

One caveat worth noting: None of these values are adjusted for inflation, and should not be read as a comparison of tickets sold, but merely money earned.

Star Wars is About to Shatter Avatar’s U.S. Box Office Record