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One of the most anticipated movies of 2015 is of course, ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’. Written by J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan, the movie will hit screens on December 18.
Still almost a month to go and the movie is already ahead of its game. The first full trailer run during halftime on ESPN’s Monday Night Football was viewed by a TV audience of 16 million. This coupled with another 112 million views on YouTube and social networking sites worldwide, totals to 128 million views in the first 24 hours, which is a record in itself.
Exactly a month from release, the number rose to 405 million trailer and teaser views on Facebook and YouTube. That's 87 percent more than this summer's "Jurassic World," which opened domestically with a record $208.8 million in ticket sales and owns the all-time No. 3 spot with $1.7 billion worldwide. No. 2 is "Titanic," at $2.1 billion, Associated Press reported.
The franchise’s official website says that the movie has also set the record of biggest-ever 24 hours for advance sales in numerous countries. In the UK, over 200,000 tickets were sold in the first day. The movie is likely to have the biggest opening, topping "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," which recorded $85 million in the U.S. and Canada on its opening weekend in December 2012, Associated Press reported.
According to Imax, it has sold $18 million domestically, double the previous record. Imax receipts account for a third of pre-release sales for this movie, putting the domestic total at over $50 million, Associated Press added.
“Whether it beats the biggest grosser of all time - "Avatar," with $2.8 billion worldwide - depends on word of mouth and whether fans love it enough to watch it multiple times through the new year”, said Ryan Nakashima of Associated Press.
