“Force Awakens” is trending because Spider-Man: Brand New Day has overtaken it as the highest-grossing movie of all time in North America. Star Wars: The Force Awakens had held that position, and the change at the top of the box-office ranking is the focus of the current coverage. Both Kotaku and IGN report the same milestone: Brand New Day has surpassed The Force Awakens in North American earnings.
The attention on Force Awakens is therefore about its box-office record being broken, rather than a new development involving the film itself. Its name features prominently in the headlines because it is the previous record-holder against which Spider-Man’s achievement is being measured. The distinction is specifically about North America: the reported milestone is the highest-grossing movie in that market, not a claim about worldwide box-office earnings.
