LOS ANGELES • Star Wars: The Force Awakens was poised to pass US$1 billion (S$1.4 billion) in worldwide ticket sales over the weekend and become the first picture to reach that mark so quickly.

The film, which officially opened in United States theatres on Dec 18 and in some international markets on Dec 16, had generated box-office revenue of US$890.3 million worldwide through Christmas Day, Burbank, California-based Walt Disney Co said last Saturday in a statement.

Before The Force Awakens, the fastest a movie crossed the US$1 billion threshold was Universal Pictures' Jurassic World, which did it in 13 days this past June.

The new Star Wars film has already topped Jurassic World for largest opening weekend this month, according to Rentrak Corp, an industry researcher. It was set to hit the US$1-billion mark no later than yesterday, its 12th day in theatres. Last Friday, it set a Christmas Day record in US and Canadian cinemas, with ticket sales of US$49.3 million.

Its worldwide total so far includes US$440.4 million domestically and US$449.9 million internationally.

The success of The Force Awakens lays the groundwork for Disney's efforts with the franchise for years to come, said chairman and chief executive Bob Iger. "It's bigger than big," he said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Dec 21. "It's bigger than we thought it would be."

BLOOMBERG