Star Wars forcing its way to the top

The film is moving up the all-time US box office charts at a record clip and now is poised to overtake those pointy eared blue aliens as the top grossing film in American box office history.

Avatar earned $760.5 million (£519m) during its Stateside run and Star Wars: The Force Awakens has generated $740.4m after picking up $88.3m over New Year's weekend.

It should take the crown from Avatar early next week. Globally, the Star Wars movie ranks as the sixth highest-grossing film in history, having earned $1.5bn worldwide. It should pass Furious 7 and Marvel's The Avengers to become the fourth biggest film in history in the coming days.

In the UK, the Force Awakens has overtaken Spectre to become the biggest film of 2015.

The sci-fi blockbuster has made £94.1m since opening at cinemas on December 17, according to new figures from Disney. Bond film Spectre has currently taken £93.5m.

The Force Awakens is now the fourth highest-grossing film in UK history, after adjusting for inflation. Titanic tops the list with a total box office to date of £111.3m, followed by Skyfall (£107.8m) and Avatar (£105.6m). But given the speed with which The Force Awakens has rocketed up the chart, it is likely to become the UK's highest-grossing film in a matter of days.

The Star Wars film will get a big shot in the arm next week when it premieres in China, the world's second biggest market for film.

Depending on how enthusiastically it is received in the People's Republic, The Force Awakens could shoot past Avatar's record $2.8bn global haul.

Another film which did well during the US Christmas break was the nerdy stepfather comedy Daddy's Home which has now taken $93.7m.