'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' crosses USD 1 billion at BO

 After breaking multiple box office records, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" has now become the fastest movie ever to cross USD 1 billion.

In just 12 days, the JJ Abrams-directed movie garnered around USD 1.09 billion at global box office. The film defeated previous record holder "Jurassic World", which set the record earlier this year by reaching USD 1 billion in 13 days, reported Ace Showbiz.

The Daisy Ridley starrer, which was originally called "Shadow of the Empire", had the biggest Christmas weekend ever at North America box office.

The movie earned an estimated USD 153.5 million, pushing its domestic total to around USD 544.6 million.

"The speed with which records are falling is a testament to the audience broadening out. And you're seeing extraordinary repeat business," said Disney distribution chief Dave Hollis.
"We know anecdotally there are people who are seeing the movie three and four times. Everybody wants to be part of something that has become a cultural phenomenon."

While the "Star Wars" movie remains at the top of the box office chart, some new releases also hit theatres. "Daddy's Home", a comedy starring Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell, led the newcomers with approximately USD 38.8 million from 3,271 theatres.

Meanwhile, David O. Russell's "Joy" was in the third place, launching to an estimated USD 17.5 million from 2,896 theatres.

Rounding out the top five were two holdovers "Sisters" and "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip". The former, which stars Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, added another USD 13.88 million in its second weekend. As for the Chipmunks movie, it grossed around USD 12.7 million from 3,705 theatres.