‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ blasts past US$1 billion in global ticket sales in record time

The new Star Wars film has become the fastest movie to pass the US$1 billion mark in global box office sales, Disney said, as fans of the space epic pack theatres around the world.

Twelve days after it first hit screens, The Force Awakens has posted an estimated US$545 million in ticket sales in North America and US$546 million internationally, a statement said on Sunday.

The previous record was held by Jurassic World, which took 13 days to reach the milestone.

The highly anticipated seventh instalment of the blockbuster space saga has received glowing reviews, and is being credited with breathing new life into the juggernaut Hollywood franchise launched by creator George Lucas in 1977.

In North America, Disney said The Force Awakens is already the second biggest grossing movie of 2015 and the number five of all time, posting record Christmas Day box office sales of US$49.3 million.

Over the three-day Christmas holiday weekend, it topped the North American box office, with US$153.5 million in estimated ticket sales, which analysts at the Rentrak research company said was the biggest second weekend of all time.

That bests Jurassic World, which garnered US$106.6 million in its second weekend back in June, it said.