Can 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' beat 'Avatar' for the all-time box office title?
'Force' has passed 'Titanic' to become the second-highest-grossing film domestically (not adjusted for inflation). How does its cultural impact compare to past box office champions like 'The Sound of Music'?
'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' stars John Boyega (l.) and Daisy Ridley (r.).
David James/Disney/Lucasfilm/AP
The Force seemingly can鈥檛 be stopped.聽
The newest 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� film, 鈥淪tar Wars: The Force Awakens,鈥� has now become the second-highest-grossing movie of all time, besting the 1997 James Cameron movie 鈥淭itanic.鈥� 鈥淔orce鈥� has now grossed more than $740 million domestically, while 鈥淭itanic鈥� grossed more than $658 million domestically.聽
Experts are predicting 鈥淔orce鈥� will soon pass 鈥淎vatar,鈥� which is the highest-grossing movie domestically of all time without adjusting for inflation. After all, 鈥淎vatar鈥� grossed more than $760 million domestically over its entire run, while 鈥淔orce鈥� has done all this in just a little more than two weeks.
Whether 鈥淔orce鈥� can become the highest-grossing movie of all time internationally is another question, as it鈥檚 still behind several movies, including 鈥淛urassic World鈥� and 鈥淭he Avengers.鈥�
Like 鈥淭itanic鈥� and 鈥淎vatar,鈥� 鈥淔orce鈥� came out in December. The massive success of these movies shows that the end of the year, when families are all home and going to the movie theater together, can make a movie a champion.
Coming out in December can also make a movie a success in January. Traditionally, movie studios don鈥檛 release very many high-profile films at the beginning of the year. This lack of competition can keep a film like 鈥淎vatar,鈥� which topped the box office through the month of January, scoring big numbers into the following year.
鈥淔orce鈥� has obviously had a big cultural impact. A new 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� film always attracts interest and the hiring of an acclaimed director like J.J. Abrams as well as the return of original cast members Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill had fans hoping that the new movie could be a return to the glory days of the original 1970s and 鈥�80s trilogy. Early screenings brought positive reviews and word-of-mouth.聽
But declaring a movie like 鈥淎vatar鈥� the highest-grossing domestically of all time always comes with the caveat 鈥渨ithout adjusting for inflation.鈥� If you do adjust for inflation, how does 鈥淔orce鈥� compare to past champions?
It鈥檚 only at number 21 so far. Movies like 鈥淕one with the Wind鈥� (still the biggest-grossing movie) and 鈥淭he Sound of Music鈥� have still grossed more. By comparison, 鈥淭itanic鈥� attracted more moviegoers, placing above both 鈥淎vatar鈥� and 鈥淔orce鈥� on the adjusted-for-inflation list.
Films like 鈥淕one鈥� and 鈥淢usic鈥� obviously came out in different eras than our current culture. In 1939, for example, when 鈥淕one鈥� hit theaters, moviegoers couldn鈥檛 have dreamed of the many entertainment options we have today. Going to the movies was still an essential part of almost anyone鈥檚 life.