The Force Awakens has prompted “unprecedented ticketing demand,” according to online ticket seller Fandango. Traffic on the website seven times their usual peak, and they’ve sold “eight times as many tickets as we did on the first day of sales for the previous record holder.” The chain AMC says they sold out 1,000 shows in under 12 hours, while MovieTickets.com says The Force Awakens tickets accounted for 95% of sales yesterday.
Servers crashed left and right last night, and the Alamo Drafthouse chain even had to issue an apology.
If you don’t have tickets yet, many theaters are adding new shows, but I’d still grab them as soon as you can.
It may depend on your local theater, but tickets for many ‘midnight’ and weekend showings of The Force Awakens are now on sale. Both Fandango and MovieTickets.com have each crashed once tonight already, so we don’t know how they’ll handle the post-trailer rush.
UPDATE: HERE’S THE TRAILER! 12+ hours later, many tickets are sold out, but if you’re not in a huge city, be sure to check. They will sell out eventually!
Scott Mendelson has some wisdom on why the big trailer debut tonight is happening during Monday Night Football – because it’s not just for us. Because, face it, we’re already hooked. They could drop this thing anywhere and we’d find it. They want – they need – to reach the people who haven’t been hanging on every piece of Star Wars news. We already know about the poster and teasers, but there are a lot of people out there who don’t. A lot of people who – despite liking Star Wars – maybe haven’t even seen both the previous trailers. They’re running the trailer during halftime of one of the most-watched events on TV to reach more than us.
Since we’re talking about the trailer, here’s a reminder that I’ll be on The Trailer Council with several other fansite/podcasting people soon after the trailer drops.
Lucasfilm has finally confirmed that the rumors are true: The full-length trailer for The Force Awakens will debut during halftime on Monday night’s NFL game.
Tickets will go on sale “everywhere” following the trailer launch. Also confirmed is the Star Wars Marathon Event, aka the seven-movie marathon, at select theaters.
Lucasfilm says that Disney is “providing unprecedented company-wide on-air and social support” and “tying in events and special activities for the day of the trailer release.” Something – perhaps a trailer tease – is expected during Good Morning America tomorrow.
A couple years ago, Disney and Netflix signed an agreement that will bring their movies exclusively to Netflix Instant beginning in 2016. But because it opens in 2015, that means The Force Awakens falls under Disney’s previous deal with Starz. But could it come to Netflix instead – maybe along with the rest of the saga? That may be enough reason for Disney to negotiate it away from Starz, Screencrush reports.
I really didn’t want to keep chasing this dragon, but there have been several reports today that the new trailer for The Force Awakens is coming on Monday. That’s the 19th, a date which has been floating around for a while, mainly because that’s when the tickets go on sale, per many, many theaters.
First at bat this morning was Screencrush, later joined later by Making Star Wars, who added a key detail: Monday Night Football. (io9 pitched in on Thursday, saying we’ll see the poster Sunday morning.)
Now, I really don’t like Monday for a trailer drop, tickets or no tickets. But when you add in Monday Night Football, (which airs on ESPN, which is owned by ABC) okay. Fine. I get it. I guess. You can’t really get more mainstream than Monday Night Football. (And hell, at least it isn’t Dancing With The Stars.)
Of course, if this does come to pass, we also expect the trailer to drop online immediately or very soon after it does on ESPN, so no one has to watch football. And it would also mean that it won’t come during the workday (for many of us) which is also nice.
But. Monday. Man.
Regardless of when and where the trailer actually happens, we are hoping for at least some official forewarning, and maybe even a significant news drop from Lucasfilm within the next few days, once the Rebels premiere gets out of the way. I’m hoping for a poster – it’s noteworthy that the MSW post also hints at a new logo. Still, all they really have to do is tell us about MNF, the marathon and tickets going on sale to get headlines through Sunday.
But for now, we wait. At least John Boyega has our back:
So connected with JJ and told him to hurry up with a trailer. Fingers crossed! That's all I can do. #injjwetrust
This Monday Disney is releasing the full trailer for The Force Awakens after the first quarter of your game. The whole night from graphics and scoreboard are Star Wars themed. The intro to the game gets an opening crawl detailing your hated rivalry.
Seriously it’s the coolest thing Monday Night Football has ever done.
Oh and one more thing.
The trailer will play on the screen at Lincoln Financial so that those in attendance don’t miss out!
It may depend on your local theater, but tickets for many ‘midnight’ and weekend showings of The Force Awakens are now on sale. Both 
