Star Wars: The Force Awakens has unseated Avatar to become the top film of all time in North America, Disney says.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the seventh instalment of the space saga. Photo: starwars.com
The studio said the JJ Abrams-directed film earned enough on Wednesday to pass the US$760.5 million taken by Avatar over its lifetime.
Avatar, however, still held the global sales record, AP news agency reported.
Last month, Star Wars: The Force Awakens became the fastest film to take $1 billion at the global box office.
The film also scored the biggest US Christmas Day box office takings in history with $49.3m.
And it also smashed the record for the biggest box office debut weekend globally, with ticket sales of $529m.
Read the RNZ review of The Force Awakens here
The seventh instalment in the Star Wars series of movies was due to open in China on Saturday which, analysts said, would give the film another significant boost.
The latest film returns to "a galaxy far, far away" some 30 years on from the action of 1983's Return of the Jedi.
Original trilogy stars Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher reprised their Han Solo and Princess Leia roles alongside younger newcomers, including Daisey Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Isaac.
-BBC