Disney’s first Star Wars film passes multiple commercial milestones in territories across the world, and has yet to be released in China

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Star Wars: The Force Awakens has become one of the 10 highest-grossing films of all time in the UK, with more than £65m in receipts.

JJ Abrams’ space opera reboot leapfrogged the Lord of the Rings films and Jurassic World this weekend, and now stands in ninth place on the all-time chart, just behind Mamma Mia!, having taken £68.5m after just 12 days in cinemas. The first Disney-made film in the science-fiction saga is widely tipped to surpass Skyfall’s record £102.9m haul from 2012 in the coming weeks.

Twelve days of Star Wars: film rockets to $1bn at the box office in record time Read more

In the US, The Force Awakens entered the all-time top five on Monday. Its take currently stands at $540m. The No 1 slot – set by Avatar in 2009 and 2010, with $760m – is well within sight.

Globally, Abrams’ film still has some way to go before threatening Avatar’s $2.78bn record. It is currently on $1.086bn, but has still to open in China, where it debuts on 9 January.

Over the weekend, The Force Awakens became the fastest film to hit $1bn, achieving the feat in just 12 days. It also became the fastest film to hit $100m at Imax cinemas.