It appears Christmas really has come early for one film franchise.
The seventh installment in the "Star Wars" saga is set to create ripple effects across the industry, as advance ticket sales in North America have surpassed the $100 million mark, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Sources told The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday that this $100 million figure includes the $50 million to $60 million in sales for its opening weekend, with some adding that "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" sales could go above $120 million. Sources have also confirmed the original figure with Variety.
Both online ticketing sites, MovieTickets.com and Fandango reported record sales in advance tickets this week, with MovieTickets.com saying "The Force Awakens" had sold 20 percent more than "Jurassic World" and double the amount of presale tickets for "The Avengers: Age of Ultron," two of 2015's top blockbuster films.
Analyst predictions are already coming in full force. Forecasts for the opening weekend have ranged from $170 million to $240 million domestically, with BoxOffice Media's Daniel Loría telling CNBC Monday they expected $223 million from this weekend.
"Jurassic World" holds the U.S.'s top opening weekend ever with $208.8 million, and while the latest set of figures suggest "Star Wars" will dominate this weekend and future weeks, December has never been a great month for opening weekend sales.
Motion pictures debuting in December tend to underperform on their opening weekends in the U.S., as holiday preparations including travel and shopping become a greater priority than going to the theater.
Take "Avatar." The top grossing film of all time hauled in some $2.8 billion globally; however, its domestic opening weekend in December 2009 came in at a modest $77 million.
"I think most certainly it's going to break the all-time December opening weekend record. We've never had a movie in North America open with over $100 million in December and this will happen with the next Star Wars," Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Rentrak, told CNBC in August.
Whether "The Force Awakens" beats records or not, key individuals in the industry are positive it will nevertheless make a mark with both critics and audiences.
"While we had strong instincts about the level of interest and what ('Star Wars') might do, we had no idea — and I will say to you will all honesty — that the interest in this film worldwide has exceeded those expectations by a lot," Disney's CEO, Bob Iger told CNBC Monday at the Los Angeles premiere.
Read the full report from The Hollywood Reporter.
Disclosure: CNBC parent Comcast owns Fandango and Universal Pictures.
—By CNBC's Alexandra Gibbs, follow her @AlexGibbsy and @CNBCi