There has been an awakening. Have you felt it? J.J. Abrams' wallet sure has. Star Wars: The Force Awakens hasn’t even formally hit theaters yet and somehow it has already managed to break numerous records with no sign of slowing down any time soon. With the release of the film only days away, it is now becoming apparent that the film is making more money in pre-sales than many films make during their entire run in theaters.
THR reports that The Force Awakens has made history by already garnering $100 million in advance ticket sales, and 50-60% of that figure is expected to go towards the film’s opening weekend alone. To put that figure in perspective, the prior record holder was The Dark Knight Rises, which garnered roughly $25 million in advance sales – which itself seemed astronomical at the time of its release.
Star Wars isn’t slowing down either, as some are estimating that when all is said and done the film could potentially break the $120 million mark in advance sales alone. We can’t exactly say we’re surprised by the estimate, as sites like Fandango actually crashed due to the surge in traffic when presale tickets were initially made available to the general public.
By the time Star Wars: The Force Awakens actually opens, experts are indicating that the film could potentially open at somewhere between $180 and $220 million at the box office when all is said and done. This figure is made all the more impressive when one considers the fact that those types of numbers are typically reserved for major summer blockbusters and not winter releases. Han Solo may be able to imagine quite a bit when it comes to wealth, but even he may not have foreseen this.
Of course, there's a downside to such huge box office business, and unfortunately it's the theaters that have to deal with it head on. While such absolutely absurd volumes of ticket sales have added a lot of potential money for your local theater, it's also created a bit of stress when it comes to the crush of fans who are expected to line up. It has gotten to the point where multiplexes are now cramming as many show times into a day as they can to accommodate the overwhelming demand by consumers to see the movie. This is on top of the fact that they had to commit to play the film for a minimum of four to five weeks just to receive the movie.
We’ve got to hand it to J.J. Abrams, Disney, and the rest of the people involved in the making of Star Wars: The Force Awakens; the film’s not even in theaters yet and they’re already laughing all the way to the bank. With the film already garnering positive reviews, we don’t expect Star Wars to release its force grip on the public any time soon. Get your tickets for Star Wars: The Force Awakens while you can, and remember: only a couple more days to go until its release.
