According to THR, online ticket seller Fandango saw traffic surge seven times its typical peak levels, and like other sites, experienced outages on Monday night as ticket sales began with the debut of the new trailer (see “First Full 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Trailer”). Fandango’s first day ticket sales for The Force Awakens were eight times higher than the previous record holder, 2012’s The Hunger Games.
Presale record were also broken for IMAX screenings, with more than $6.5 million generated in domestic ticket sales for the estimated 390 IMAX screens in North America that will show the film opening weekend. IMAX presale tickets have never toped more than $1 million on single day presales before this.
According to Bloomberg, AMC Theaters., the nation’s second-largest movie chain, sold out more than 1,000 shows.
Movie researcher BoxOffice.com is currently forecasting a $215 million opening-weekend box office total for the U.S. and Canada, which will set a another new record.