Star Wars topples Spectre to become UK's biggest film of 2015

British duo John Boyega and Daisy Ridley take lead roles in Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Star Wars: The Force Awakens has become the UK's biggest film of 2015 after just 16 days of release, with takings of £94.06m beating Spectre's £93.5m.

JJ Abrams' film has also overtaken Avatar (£94m) as the second most successful film in history in the UK.

But Skyfall still reigns supreme as the UK's highest-grossing film of all time with £103m in 2012.

The Force Awakens sees the return of original cast members Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill.

Fans of the original Star Wars trilogy eagerly awaited the return of Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, and Harrison Ford

It also introduced audiences to British actors Daisy Ridley and John Boyega, who have starring roles in the seventh movie in George Lucas's franchise.

At the end of December, Star Wars: The Force Awakens also became the fastest film to take $1bn (£674m) at the global box office.

It achieved the feat in 12 days, beating the previous record of 13 days set by Jurassic World in June.

But while Jurassic World had the benefit of record takings in China over the period, The Force Awakens had yet to open there when the figures were released.

It still has a way to go before it can compete with the two films which took more than $2bn worldwide - 1997's Titanic ($2.18bn; £1.45bn) and 2009's Avatar ($2.78bn; £1.85bn).

Both were directed by James Cameron and were also released in the same pre-Christmas slot as The Force Awakens.