‘Star Wars’ and the Evolution of Strong Female Characters

After three-weeks “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” has earned over $740.2M in domestic sales alone, on its way to surpass “Avatar” in total global sales with $2.78B.

Fox’s Joy, directed by David O. Russell and starring Jennifer Lawrence, spiked 23 percent on Thursday, earning $3.2 million from 2,896 theaters for a cume of $28.3 million. The film earned an estimated $88.30 million, according to BoxOffice.com, putting it atop the weekend box office for a third consecutive week. “The Force Awakens” finished the year as the second-highest-grossing movie of 2015 domestically, ranking just behind the US$652 million earned by “Jurassic World” – another total earned over the course of its entire run, far longer than the 13 days that “Star Wars” has been in cinemas so far. That’s enough to unseat Marvel’s “The Avengers” ($623.4 million) at No. 4 on the all-time domestic chart and becoming Disney’s top-grossing film ever (not accounting for inflation). However, the film has yet to open in China, the second-largest market in the world – meaning that it’s likely to get a big boost when it premieres in that country on January 9.

Yes, you’re right, The Force Awakens has already made $1.39 billion globally, surpassing the original film, and on track to beat Avatar’s U.S. domestic run.

The Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell comedy “Daddy’s Home” came in second with an estimated $29 million, bringing its total to $93.7 million.

Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight also looks to have earned $3.2 million, although numbers weren’t immediately available because of reporting issue with Rentrak.

Universal’s “Sisters“, a Tina Fey and Amy Poehler pairing, continued to show impressive endurance, snagging fourth place with $12.6 million. “Concussion” was No. 8 on Friday with an estimated $3.1 million for a total of $20.4 million.

“Point Break“, a remake of the 1991 cult favorite about extreme sports enthusiasts who double as bank robbers, is shaping up to be a costly dud.

That brings domestic earnings for the sci-fi adventure to $686.5 million in just 15 days of release. The bloody revenge epic stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy and is directed by “Birdman’s” Alejandro G. Innarritu.

Worldwide, the Disney and Lucasfilm blockbuster has hit $1.33 billion after earning $15.1 million on Thursday. The current per-screen average for an IMAX screen is a stunning $226,000 and counting.