UPDATE! Star Wars: The Force Awakens Has Already Made $54 Million in Ticket Sales!

Star-Wars-7-Ticket-SalesAs you may already know, ticket presales for Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens have already shattered all kinds of records. Now, a month after presales began – and a month before the movie’s release date – a more precise figure of the movie’s success has been unveiled: the film has made over $50 million in the United States before it’s even been screened for critics!

 

From The Hollywood Reporter:

With a month left to go, Star Wars: The Force Awakens has racked up more than $50 million in advance ticket sales in North America, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter. That’s double the previous record set by The Dark Knight Rises in 2012 with $25 million. Imax alone accounts for a third of all ticket sales, according to sources. Force Awakens, looking to reboot George Lucas’ Star Wars series, begins rolling out the evening of Dec. 17 in North America. Overseas, it opens day-and-date in much of the world.

With numbers like these, it is extremely likely that The Force Awakens will beat out the previous record-holder for December’s biggest opening weekend (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey‘s $85 million haul) – and quite possibly in a single day, to boot. While many have questioned whether or not the timing of releasing the film around the Holidays could be detrimental toward its opening weekend haul – and indeed, whether or not it can beat Jurassic World‘s historic $209 million opening weekend – this information suggests that Star Wars will perform exceptionally well in spite of the fact that it isn’t being released in the Summer.

DisneyLucasFilm

The only thing that’s more exciting than seeing the movie is seeing how well it does in the first 77 hours (7 PM 12/17/15-12 AM 12/21/15) of its release in the United States – and we at Star Wars News Net will be absolutely sure to cover the movie’s financial performance (both domestically and abroad) and more in the coming weeks. After the announcement of the film three years and three weeks ago, the wait for The Force Awakens is nearly over!

 

UPDATE!

 

A writer over at Deadline goes on to add more information regarding this already-staggering number, including an actual figure as opposed to an estimate.

Yesterday news hit the web that advance ticket sales for J.J. Abrams movie are at $50M, and sources in exhibition pre-sales this morning tell me that figure is at $54M and could rise to $100M by the time the film debuts on Dec. 18. Here’s why: Disney has only run a minimal part of its ad campaign. One non-Disney source says that figure is as low as 5% and is going to swell this coming week as we head into Thanksgiving, a prime time for eyeballs at the multiplex. Furthermore, we’re also a month out from opening. The fact that Force Awakens has reached $54M in advance tickets sales is stunning for both distributors and exhibs. With nearly a month to go, Fandango’s pre-sales for Force Awakens have already topped the total pre-sales of their previous record holder, the first Hunger Games movie, back in 2012. Fans are even buying advance tickets beyond opening weekend, through Christmas week and into 2016, while theater chains are continually posting new showtimes on Fandango to meet the fan demand. Imax reported yesterday that Force Awakens is their current record pre-seller at $18M. Imax reps a third of digital and large format screens, and its domestic build out will reach close to 400 hubs in time for Force Awakens. Despite these record pre-sales figures, there are still millions of tickets left for opening weekend. Keep in mind, when Disney/Marvel’s The Avengers hit a $207.4M opening, the average theater had a capacity of 63%, so it wasn’t a total sell-out situation.

It’s not too surprising that Disney’s only really gotten started with the ad campaign recently, given the recent influx of content unveiled in the past month. But even with the already-frequent ads, things are sure to pick up in the next week as the holiday season kicks off. Such an explosion of ads will likely drive the already-high demand for the film even further up. All things considered, we couldn’t ask for a better way to kick off the triumphant return of the Star Wars franchise than this – a movie with as much as $100 million in the bank before it is even released.

 

+ posts

Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

Grant Davis (Pomojema)

Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

48 thoughts on “UPDATE! Star Wars: The Force Awakens Has Already Made $54 Million in Ticket Sales!

  • November 20, 2015 at 5:43 pm
    Permalink

    so that’s what? around 3 million fellows buying their ticket in advance?

    • November 20, 2015 at 6:28 pm
      Permalink

      Probably less than 3 million. I have 3 tickets already, one for the 17th at 8pm and two for the 18th at a different theater. I am willing to bet that a good number of people are planning to see it more than once on opening day.

      • November 21, 2015 at 12:33 am
        Permalink

        There were tickets as early as 7:00 PM in my area. Sadly, I couldn’t get any.

  • November 20, 2015 at 5:43 pm
    Permalink

    “Force Awakens, looking to reboot George Lucas’ Star Wars series, begins rolling out the evening of Dec. 17 in North America.”

    Reboot? As Inigo Montoya said “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

    • November 20, 2015 at 5:48 pm
      Permalink

      What part of “sequel” do they not understand. I guess with reboot fever going on they just assume the only way to make a movie based on a prior property is to reboot it.

      • November 20, 2015 at 6:02 pm
        Permalink

        …it just means that the guys who wrote this are interested in Star Wars, but not for the story. They are interested in business aspect of it, which technically, is a kind of reboot.

      • November 21, 2015 at 2:26 pm
        Permalink

        They haven’t used “Episode 7” in the marketing, so perhaps some non-fans are a bit confused.

    • November 20, 2015 at 8:29 pm
      Permalink

      It does look to be a soft reboot in the vein of Star Trek, Maybe not a literal one but this is definitely Star Wars for 2015 and a new generation.

    • November 20, 2015 at 9:45 pm
      Permalink

      It seems to be a bit of both a sequel and a reboot… a seqboot.

      • November 21, 2015 at 1:59 am
        Permalink

        That seems to be the norm these days. Can’t say I mind too much. Would rather see a “refresh” of the story with new characters than just scrapping everything and starting over.

  • November 20, 2015 at 6:42 pm
    Permalink

    Really hope the premiere isn’t in 3D. Not everyone is comfortable with it.
    Maybe they’ll have one 3D and one 2D adjacent to each other, ala Westwood Village style.

    • November 20, 2015 at 6:49 pm
      Permalink

      There are theaters showing 2D, but they may be harder to find. Tickets may be easier to get though.

      • November 20, 2015 at 7:16 pm
        Permalink

        I was referring to the Premiere.

    • November 20, 2015 at 9:45 pm
      Permalink

      Yeah. I was thinking about that. I don’t mind 3D. But I could also take it or leave it. I’m sort of more interested seeing it in 2D for the sake of continuity with the other 6 installments.

    • November 21, 2015 at 12:32 am
      Permalink

      In my area, the Dec. 17 7:00 PM opening screening is only in 2D.

    • November 21, 2015 at 5:08 am
      Permalink

      I felt it was harder to find 2D showings here in NYC. But I got one.

      • November 21, 2015 at 6:50 am
        Permalink

        Guys, I’m talking about the red carpet, world premiere. I realize there are 2D showings out there (laughs)

        • November 21, 2015 at 8:13 am
          Permalink

          2D showings are astonishingly hard to find in certain areas. I can only hope that the 3D isn’t too distracting.

  • November 20, 2015 at 8:28 pm
    Permalink

    I could honestly care less seeing as how I won’t see a dime of it, I’d much rather it break even or underperform and be a film that holds up for decades than be just another Hollywood blockbuster like the PT films were.

    • November 20, 2015 at 8:41 pm
      Permalink

      Yes, I agree with you…I just want a good movie.

      • November 20, 2015 at 9:44 pm
        Permalink

        …might be both…

        • November 21, 2015 at 4:50 am
          Permalink

          Regardless, It’s fitting that A New Hope is the highest grossing Science-Fiction/Fantasy/Action-Adventure film of all time. It’s not my favorite but it did start it all and I think in all of cinema, Only Gone With The Wind tops it.

          • November 21, 2015 at 6:00 am
            Permalink

            That’s correct. The true achievement would not to top Avatar, but to top GWtW, which has over $3 BILLION when adjusted for inflation.

          • November 21, 2015 at 3:23 pm
            Permalink

            It won’t be since that was the era of cheap tickets and long before home video, Films were cultural events. Today with 12 dollar tickets and the fact you can get a home system for pretty cheap, Most just wait for it to come out on Blu-Ray. I think theaters will go the way of drive-in-theaters before we die and only hipsters will be interested in them.

    • November 21, 2015 at 12:31 am
      Permalink

      Yes, but ideally it would be a 100% perfect movie that makes $3 billion at the box office. We can only dream…

      • November 21, 2015 at 4:49 am
        Permalink

        It would be nice to have Star Wars hold the title but those records never last due to inflation and it’s kind of embarrasing that Episode I is the highest grossing one before inflation adjustment.

  • November 20, 2015 at 8:29 pm
    Permalink

    and they aren’t considering presales in Europe, and other parts of the world. It’s almost impossible to count them here, as each cinema makes its own presales, but I think that number can easily be doubled.

    • November 21, 2015 at 7:35 am
      Permalink

      In fact, I’m planning to watch the movie in Spain…if there’s a cinema that includes movies with Spanish subtitles(The majority of the cinemas shows the dubbed version).

  • November 20, 2015 at 9:56 pm
    Permalink

    …annnnddd….we’re back

  • November 20, 2015 at 9:59 pm
    Permalink

    I haven’t seen mention of it anywhere else so I am going to lay claim to coinging this phrase…but welcome to the age of …

    The Squeequel

    • November 21, 2015 at 4:02 am
      Permalink

      that’s the title of the 2009 Alvin and the Chipmunks… so how are you going to claim that?

      • November 21, 2015 at 5:59 am
        Permalink

        Different spelling?

        • November 21, 2015 at 12:43 pm
          Permalink

          the spelling is different, but the term itself has been used for decades already, it’s even on urban dictionary

          • November 21, 2015 at 12:51 pm
            Permalink

            Different spelling and meaning..

            Squee

            A noise primarily made by an over-excited fangirl, however it has spread rapidly and is now widely spread among the web community.

            So a Squeequel is a movie made for overexcited fanboys.girls

            Squeakquel

            A sequel to a pre-existing motion picture obviously made solely for financial gain rather than based on demand or the artistic merit of the original

  • November 21, 2015 at 12:28 am
    Permalink

    Take my Money!

  • November 21, 2015 at 1:42 am
    Permalink

    its going to be insane on opening night, like a mini comic con.

    • November 21, 2015 at 7:33 am
      Permalink

      That doesn’t even comes close in describing the hype!

  • November 21, 2015 at 3:19 am
    Permalink

    I was able to get tickets for 7p on Thursday a couple hours before the tickets were released. There’s quite a few seats available for later that night, so I’ll probably go watch it again after. Anyone else on that same boat?

  • November 21, 2015 at 7:00 am
    Permalink

    So, I have never wrote here before and I am only doing it because I have watched and no one else has noticed….but I did….When Kylo is walking up to Finn and is about to swing his saber….as you may have noticed, Kylo did not have his mask/helmet on…BUT….what you may have missed is right when he is swinging his lightsaber, if you look and I managed to pause it just right (but I have no clue how to take screen shots) it looks like his mask or helmet may be coming on because something (not his hair) starts reflecting the red from his lightsaber. The place I have it paused at right now, you can clearly see the reflection of his lighsaber. Now, unless Kylo hasn’t been showering and his forehead is super greasy, something is reflecting his saber on his head. I hope you guys see what I am seeing (which may turn out to be nothing) and can begin to speculate on it like i have been since the first moment I seen the trailer! -Darth Eek the Cat

  • November 21, 2015 at 8:20 am
    Permalink

    journalists suck its not a reboot

    • November 21, 2015 at 7:06 pm
      Permalink

      Yeah, I hate when someone is writing about things that he/she is not familiar with. Not their fault though. In most media, the chief editors are those who decide who will cover what, mostly you should blame them. That is one of the main reasons why I quit professional journalism, when they starting asking of you to cover stories you’re not familiar with, or for example, to write a review for a game that you haven’t even finished yet.

  • November 21, 2015 at 9:36 am
    Permalink

    i got 4 free tickets to a private invite only screening om the 18th , so they got someones money but not mine .

    • November 22, 2015 at 4:50 am
      Permalink

      private invite only screening + 18th….. that can’t be right.
      got 4 tickets for the 17th. just walked up to the boxoffice and purchased them (In Dolby ATMOS, no less). a private invite only screening should at least be the 17th, it seems. Otherwise, what is so private about it?

      • November 22, 2015 at 3:14 pm
        Permalink

        its a cinema screen in a multiplex hired by a company and they sent out invites . i got some in the post cos they like me …. only 50 people in a 500 odd seat screen , for free. no public.

        • November 23, 2015 at 12:03 am
          Permalink

          that is cool and all, it is just odd to hear the words ‘private screening’ when anyone can get ticket on that day, and like i said, many of us have tickets for the day before. I have only done a special screening once, though. Aunt gave me tickets she won on the radio to see War of the Worlds a week before release.

  • November 22, 2015 at 8:24 pm
    Permalink

    I got my tickets yesterday. December 18th 7:30 PM.

Comments are closed.

LATEST POSTS ON MOVIE NEWS NET