Star Wars Breaks All Records For Advance US Ticket Sales

[Fanghawk]

Star Wars Breaks All Records For Advance US Ticket Sales

It's as if millions of Star Wars fans cried out for The Force Awakens tickets, and were suddenly silenced.

When Star Wars: The Force Awakens was first revealed by J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm, fans were skeptical - we've been burned by new Star Wars movies before, after all. But that ill will evaporated <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/142901-Star-Wars-The-Force-Awakens-First-Full-Trailer#&gid=gallery_4893&pid=1>upon seeing the new trailers, with <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/161335-International-The-Force-Awakens-Trailer-Has-Loads-of-New-Footage>all the lightsabers, starfighters, and Han Solo/Chewbacca reunions they entailed. The most important detail came at the end of the trailer: "Tickets Available Now". And Star Wars fans have bought these tickets en masse, breaking all known advanced US ticket sales a month before release.

If you've attempted to buy a Force Awakens ticket recently (don't pretend you haven't), you might've noticed they're hard to come by. That's because customers have purchased over $50 million in advance tickets, crushing The Dark Knight Rises' 2012 record of $25 million. Imax screenings in particular are doing quite well, breaking records once again with $9 million in advance tickets.

Now, $50 million doesn't sound like much, but let's put it in context: The biggest all-time box-office opening record is Jurassic World at $209 million. At this rate, Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be halfway there before a single theatrical screening. The demand is so high, some theaters are scheduling 2 and 5am screenings, which doesn't even get into locations which have sold out completely.

And that's just talking about US records. Disney also reported 200,000+ ticket purchases across the UK in the first 24 hours. International ticket sales are harder to gauge - Star Wars has a smaller following in China than North America - but Episode VII could be the film which bucks that trend. Regardless, if these rates continue across repeat viewings? The Force Awakens might finally dethrone Avatar's box office lifetime total of $2.79 billion.

If the Force is with it, that is.

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Source: <a href=http://www.wsj.com/articles/star-wars-aims-its-mighty-force-toward-a-box-office-smash-1447966327>Wall Street Journal, via <a href=http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/20/star-wars-the-force-awakens-us-advance-ticket-sales-record-50m>The Guardian

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[Stupidity]

I can't help but feel all this hype can only lead up to a disappointing movie.

From what little I've heard (against my will) about the plot, it seems generic. More like a generic setup episode than a cinematic experience in itself. Hoping it goes in a different direction then it seems like it is.

Everything but the plot looks great though.

*Did the prequels get this much hype?

 

[RJ Dalton]

*Did the prequels get this much hype?

Yes. Yes they did.

And that is why I'm expecting this movie to suck. Maybe not as bad as the prequels (it's hard to imagine anything sucking that much), but any time something gets hyped this much, I just start expecting it to crash and burn. It's part of the anti-hype that is the only way to make something hyped possibly enjoyable.

 

[Buizel91]

*Did the prequels get this much hype?

Yes. Yes they did.

And that is why I'm expecting this movie to suck. Maybe not as bad as the prequels (it's hard to imagine anything sucking that much), but any time something gets hyped this much, I just start expecting it to crash and burn. It's part of the anti-hype that is the only way to make something hyped possibly enjoyable.

There are going to be people who will be disappointed, It's the same for any big franchise, people just hold originals to close to there hearts.

Will the film crash and burn however? Oohh hell no it won't, Will Ep 7 be as good as Episode 5? Probably not, I don't think many films can beat that even by todays standards, but it will be a very good film, I'm damn well sure.

If we have learned anything from Disney with Marvel, they don't fuck about. J.J Abrams seems committed, And the best part about it? The Trailers. We all knew what would happen with ep 1 2 and 3, we could see it in the trailers. This film? There is still a lot of mystery, people are still debating what will happen, which honestly is fucking great, and rare in this day and age.

 

[Zulnam]

Ever noticed how many mainstream movies or games keep breaking these Cashcords (as i like to records based solely on cash) year after year, always setting a higher bar. Always making more money? "The biggest all-time box-office opening record is Jurassic World". That was this f*kin year, and now another movie from 2015 might take it's place.

They are making more and more money. Meanwhile, the economy is "crippled". And how's that savings account going along?

 

[omega 616]

I can't help but smile, I am not a star wars fan ... I think Darth Maul was the best villain, Vader is the worst, Yoda is annoying and Jar Jar was some much needed comedy relief 'cos damn star wars is dry!

What I am looking forward to is "that movie sucks, hope the next one is better .... these movies suck, I hope the last one is better ... this trilogy sucks! Hope the next trilogy is better .... ..... "this movie is worse than 7, 8 and 9! Hope the next one is better" I am sure you can sense the pattern.

Disney has said they "will make yearly movies as long as they are in demand" and nothing kills franchises like over saturation and a "lets pump them out" mentality, especially a franchise that is VERY popular and well loved AND it's last films are hated AND there is so much hype for the movies that they couldn't possibly live up to, like watchdogs and destiny.

 

[Zontar]

Lucky for me then that my local theatre doesn't do reservations so all I have to do is show up 3 hours early for tickets.

Though then again, most people don't even seem to be aware of the preview screening the day before that costs as much as watching it normally.

 

[RJ Dalton]

If we have learned anything from Disney with Marvel, they don't fuck about. J.J Abrams seems committed, And the best part about it? The Trailers. We all knew what would happen with ep 1 2 and 3, we could see it in the trailers. This film? There is still a lot of mystery, people are still debating what will happen, which honestly is fucking great, and rare in this day and age.

Firstly, I remember the hype. Everybody thought the trailers looked awesome then, too. And the mystery doesn't suggest it will be great, it just suggests that Abrams is the first person in Hollywood to understand how to properly market a film in years, but we've known that ever since Cloverfield. Which brings me to my next point, Abrams isn't really that great a director. Unlike Michael Bay, he's competent behind the camera, he knows how to properly frame a shot and how to direct action, but . . . well, he just doesn't have a lot to say. At best, I expect any film with him at the helm to be at best okay, at worst annoying.

 

[dyre]

If we have learned anything from Disney with Marvel, they don't fuck about. J.J Abrams seems committed, And the best part about it? The Trailers. We all knew what would happen with ep 1 2 and 3, we could see it in the trailers. This film? There is still a lot of mystery, people are still debating what will happen, which honestly is fucking great, and rare in this day and age.

Firstly, I remember the hype. Everybody thought the trailers looked awesome then, too. And the mystery doesn't suggest it will be great, it just suggests that Abrams is the first person in Hollywood to understand how to properly market a film in years, but we've known that ever since Cloverfield. Which brings me to my next point, Abrams isn't really that great a director. Unlike Michael Bay, he's competent behind the camera, he knows how to properly frame a shot and how to direct action, but . . . well, he just doesn't have a lot to say. At best, I expect any film with him at the helm to be at best okay, at worst annoying.

I'm allowing myself to take in moderate levels of hype for the new Star Wars (imo, hype in moderation adds to short-term happiness without risking much long-term disappointment), but I do agree that JJ Abrams is a much better marketer than he is a director. That is to say, he's a magnificent marketer and merely a decent director, and a lot of his movies seem to have competent but uninspired camera work. I think there's some promise from some of the shots in the trailer though. The one where he circles the camera from the pilot to the black stormtrooper guy was very good. And some of the shots with the X-wings and TIE fighters looked great as well. Exciting without being too busy ("too busy" being a common criticism I have with a lot of his previous action scenes). I think he's at his best when he can focus on a specific mood or imagery. Like, the nostalgia overflow of the first half of Super 8.

Also, he should be going into this one with a much better script than what he normally gets to work with. They've got the writer from Empire Strikes Back doing this script, so it should be way better than the crappy Star Trek scripts.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Which brings me to my next point, Abrams isn't really that great a director. Unlike Michael Bay, he's competent behind the camera, he knows how to properly frame a shot and how to direct action, but . . . well, he just doesn't have a lot to say. At best, I expect any film with him at the helm to be at best okay, at worst annoying.

I agree with this completely. I do put it forth, though, that Star Wars has never and probably will never require directorial brilliance to...well..."be Star Wars". It hasn't exactly enjoyed a Murderer's Row of all time greats in the past. "Competence" is pretty much the bar that needs to be cleared. And some of Abrams more notable strengths...IE an eye for kinetic action and a propensity for wanting to insert occasional levity...actually fit Star Wars like a glove. I'm not sure I want to see a Paul Thomas Anderson Star Wars, or a Wes Anderson Star Wars. James Cameron is a pretty middling director, but he'd probably be a phenomenal fit. Competent. Good at action. Good sense for pacing and movement.

We're not exactly making The Godfather over here, with these movies.

 

[RJ Dalton]

If we have learned anything from Disney with Marvel, they don't fuck about. J.J Abrams seems committed, And the best part about it? The Trailers. We all knew what would happen with ep 1 2 and 3, we could see it in the trailers. This film? There is still a lot of mystery, people are still debating what will happen, which honestly is fucking great, and rare in this day and age.

Firstly, I remember the hype. Everybody thought the trailers looked awesome then, too. And the mystery doesn't suggest it will be great, it just suggests that Abrams is the first person in Hollywood to understand how to properly market a film in years, but we've known that ever since Cloverfield. Which brings me to my next point, Abrams isn't really that great a director. Unlike Michael Bay, he's competent behind the camera, he knows how to properly frame a shot and how to direct action, but . . . well, he just doesn't have a lot to say. At best, I expect any film with him at the helm to be at best okay, at worst annoying.

I'm allowing myself to take in moderate levels of hype for the new Star Wars (imo, hype in moderation adds to short-term happiness without risking much long-term disappointment), but I do agree that JJ Abrams is a much better marketer than he is a director. That is to say, he's a magnificent marketer and merely a decent director, and a lot of his movies seem to have competent but uninspired camera work. I think there's some promise from some of the shots in the trailer though. The one where he circles the camera from the pilot to the black stormtrooper guy was very good. And some of the shots with the X-wings and TIE fighters looked great as well. Exciting without being too busy ("too busy" being a common criticism I have with a lot of his previous action scenes). I think he's at his best when he can focus on a specific mood or imagery. Like, the nostalgia overflow of the first half of Super 8.

Also, he should be going into this one with a much better script than what he normally gets to work with. They've got the writer from Empire Strikes Back doing this script, so it should be way better than the crappy Star Trek scripts.

Really? I'd heard the guy who scripted Empire Strikes Back wasn't involved until the second movie.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Really? I'd heard the guy who scripted Empire Strikes Back wasn't involved until the second movie.

Lawrence Kasdan co-wrote Episode VII.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I'm still ROFL'ing from that one time somebody scoffed at me for suggesting a new Star Wars movie would beat Ultron at the box office.

Here's to you, random stranger, wherever you are right now.