Star Wars breaks more box office records: The Force Awakens set to rake in $47million on Christmas Day - almost double the December 25 record

Star Wars breaks more box office records: The Force Awakens set to rake in $47million on Christmas Day - almost double the December 25 record 

• The Force Awakens was forecast to make $47million on Christmas Day
• New Star Wars movie was set to overtake Sherlock's record of $24.6million 
• Even conservative predictions had the film making $35million on Friday 
• 4,000 US movie theaters were showing the sci-fi movie on December 25
• The Force Awakens is on track to become the highest grossing film ever 

By Ollie Gillman For Dailymail.com

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is set to break yet more records by raking in more money at the box office on Christmas Day than any film has before.

The seventh installment of the science-fiction series was forecast to make up to $47million on Friday - almost double the December 25 record.

On Christmas Day 2009, Sherlock set records by making $24.6million at the box office. 

Even the most conservative predictions suggest The Force Awakens made $35million at more than 4,000 movie theaters across the U.S. yesterday, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Star Wars is likely to make between $120million and $150million over the weekend, taking its total revenue past $500million.

Only Jurassic World - with $652million - has made more money at the box office this year. 

The Force Awakens has already smashed global records, making more in its first weekend than any other release in film history with a grand total of $528million.

It has received rave reviews to reinvigorate the almost 40-year-old franchise and is tipped by many to be the first film to make more than $3billion in ticket sales.

The action film stole the crown from Jurassic World, which set a record in June when it made $522million in its first weekend.

Starring British newcomers Daisy Ridley and John Boyega, both 23, The Force Awakens is the seventh film in the Star Wars series, which began in 1977.

Its success will have studio Disney eagerly anticipating the planned Star Wars sequels that are already in the pipeline. It is the first of an already announced trilogy which will wrap up in 2019. 

Stand-alone films are also in the works, with one telling the story of a young Han Solo and another which tells the tale of a group of rebel fighters who come together to steal the plans for the Death Star.

The first film still stands as the 57th highest grossing film ever made, with a box office total of $787million, meaning The Force Awakens is well on its way to overtaking it.

Star Wars was forecast to make up to $47million on Friday - almost double the December 25 record

It has already surpassed Return of the Jedi’s $573million and The Empire Strike Back’s £534million.

The more recent prequel trilogy, released between 1999 and 2005, may have been panned by the critics but sold huge numbers of tickets. 

The Phantom Menace is the 20th most successful film ever and one of just a handful to have made more than $1billion worldwide.

The Force Awakens could yet become the most successful film of all time. The accolade is currently held by Avatar, which made $2.7billion.