Hey, remember that time Hollywood tried to tell me female leads weren't relatable, and that's why more movies didn't have them? Well Star Wars: The Force Awakens just passed Avatar to become the highest-grossing movie in North America of all time, so why don't you put that in your pipe and smoke it? Just don't smoke so much that you forget the fact that the cast of The Force Awakens was led by Daisy Ridley as Rey, the Bechdel Test-passing, ass-kicking, no-nonsense heroine, who needs no rescuing and makes no apologies. That's the lady who was at the helm of The Force Awakens when it nudged Avatar aside to take the honor of top-grossing film in North America after just under three weeks in theaters, so I don't want to hear any more flimsy excuses for women's lack of representation in entertainment.
As of Jan. 6, The Force Awakens will overtake the domestic earnings record previously set at $760.5 million by Avatar in 2009, an amount that the film achieved over a period of seven months, plus a later theatrical re-release. Just to put things in perspective for you, The Force Awakens is crushing that record in just 20 days. Dayummmm. Where Avatar still does have the edge and the record, however, is in global sales; the film banked $2.78 billion worldwide, which is still a pretty far-off goal. As of Jan. 5, The Force Awakens has racked up just (!!) $1.56 billion, although it's worth noting that it has not yet been released in China. That will happen Jan. 9.
Ultimately, it's looking like the sequel will make between $2.2 billion and $2.4 billion worldwide, making it the number two film of all time, two spots up from the number four slot that it currently holds. So men's rights activists? Your argument is invalid. Thank you so much for playing, but you can all go home now. The rest of us are going to see The Force Awakens five more times in theaters.
Images: Walt Disney Motion Pictures/Lucasfilm; Giphy
