'Star Wars' named highest-grossing film of all time at U.S. box office

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Within 20 days since of its theatrical release, Star Wars: The Force Awakens has become the highest-grossing film of all time at the U.S. box office.

The wildly popular Disney-owned film starring Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver and Mark Hamill among others, has earned more than the former domestic record-holder, James Cameron's Avatar, which collected $760.5 million in 2009.

Actual figures from The Force Awakens' haul at the American box office are expected to be released Thursday.

Disney released a statement via StarWars.com, thanking fans for their continued support. "We feel [fan support] here and it drives us every day, and it will continue to in the very bright future of Star Wars," the studio said. "There has indeed been an awakening -- and it's all thanks to you."

In addition to its most recent record, the seventh installment of the Star Wars franchise, which released in theaters Dec. 17, also holds the record for the biggest opening day in the United States at $119.1 million, the biggest opening weekend at the U.S. box office at $247.96 million, and the biggest IMAX opening in the U.S. box office at $30.1 million.

The Force Awakens is also the fastest film to earn $1 billion at the global box office.

Despite breaking plenty of domestic records, the J.J. Abrams-helmed sci-fi adventure has yet to knock Cameron's Avatar from global box office domination, although it is in the running at $1.6 billion thus far. The film is currently the fourth highest-grossing movie worldwide before opening in China on Jan. 9.