If the reported difficulties United Kingdom movie theaters were experiencing over advance ticket sales for Star Wars: The Force Awakens were any indication, we were in for a scramble tonight when presale tickets on this side of the pond became available. Sure enough, Fandango opened for Star Wars presale business and appeared to have crashed under the weight of eager fans attempting to get their tickets. If you tried to load Fandango, you may have been treated to this adorable error page...
Something funny, indeed. Not an Ewok in sight, but plenty of Minions to brighten up the moment.
THR notes that Imax's website and Movie Tickets were also experiencing downtime on Monday night as Star Wars fans attempted to secure seats at their local Star Wars: Episode VII showing. Links to all three ticket sites are posted at StarWars.com, which surely sent plenty of people headed on their direction after the new trailer dropped.
In a digital age, where fans need little more than a computer or cell phone and a decent wifi connection to purchase tickets for a major event such as Star Wars, it's hard to imagine what's actually the more frustrating experience, being camped out in line somewhere, hoping desperately that you'll actually make it to the box office before the tickets sell out, or being somewhere more comfortable with your keyboard in front of you, or cell phone in hand, resisting the urge to belt out a wookiee cry of frustration every time the page or app fails to load. Where's R2 when you need him?!
As mentioned, it seemed like there was a good chance there would be issues with the ticket presales earlier today after reports stated that cinemas in the United Kingdom were experiencing difficulties managing the the high volume of interest in ticket sales for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Odeon, Picturehouse and CineWorld were all reportedly dealing with site issues. So it's not especially shocking that the demand would be as great or greater stateside. THR's report noted that there was no response to their equest for comment at Fandango, but perhaps they'll have something to say about this tomorrow, once they're hopefully back up and running. I'm especially curious to know how Star Wars presales stack up against the presales of other big movies in recent years.
While Star Wars fans may have been (or continue to be) frustrated by movie ticket site issues as they try to get their tickets, there's still reason to celebrate today, as the final trailer for The Force Awakens arrived online, delivering new footage as well as new clues about the massively anticipated addition to the beloved franchise. If you haven't seen it, or feel compelled to watch it over and over again, check it out here.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens arrives in theaters December 18. More information about the film can be found here
