U.S. Movie Industry On Track for Record Year

By Benjamin SnyderManaging Editor
Benjamin SnyderManaging Editor

Benjamin Snyder is Fortune's managing editor, leading operations for the newsroom.

Prior to rejoining Fortune, he was a managing editor at Business Insider and has worked as an editor for Bloomberg, LinkedIn and CNBC, covering leadership stories, sports business, careers and business news. He started his career as a breaking news reporter at Fortune in 2014.

Furious 7, Jurassic Park, Pitch Perfect and Ted: Universal Pictures/Photofest; Mission Impossible: Paramount Pictures/Photofest; Terminator: Paramount Pictures/IMDB; Star Wars: Disney/IMDB

With Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Jurassic World both released this year, the U.S. box office is on track to reach its highest figure ever—over $11 billion in ticket sales.

Sales are forecast to be up over 6% for the year to reach $11.01 billion, including ticket sales from both the U.S. and Canada, according to Bloomberg, citing Rentrak data.

That number would top the previous record of $10.92 billion set in 2013, according to the publication.

“An event film like this ends up being something that can drive the business overall, get people back in the habit,” Dave Hollis, Disney’s (DIS) executive vice president of distribution, said in an interview with Bloomberg.

Star Wars reportedly earned $248 million in its debut and $529 around the world.