Star Wars breaks North America box office record

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the seventh instalment of the space saga

Star Wars: The Force Awakens has beaten Avatar to become the top film of all time in North America, Disney says.

The studio says the JJ Abrams film earned enough on Wednesday to pass the £520 million taken by Avatar over its lifetime.

Avatar, however, still holds the global sales record, say AP news agency.

Last month, Star Wars: The Force Awakens became the fastest film to take £674 million at the global box office.

The film also scored the biggest US Christmas Day box office takings in history with $49.3 million.

And it also smashed the record for the biggest box office debut weekend globally, with ticket sales of $529 million.

To China

The seventh instalment in the Star Wars series of movies is due to open in China on Saturday which, analysts say, will give the film another significant boost.

The latest film returns to "a galaxy far, far away" some 30 years on from the action of 1983's Return of the Jedi.

It sees original trilogy stars Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher back in action as Han Solo and Princess Leia.