‘Star Wars’ awakens box office records

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is already on course to smash Irish box office records, after cinemas here reported one of their busiest ever weeks for online bookings.

A number of early screenings of the eagerly awaited movie, which opens here on December 17, have already sold out, despite advanced ticket sales only being released last Monday.

Online bookings for the seventh film in the sci-fi series opened four days ago to coincide with the release of the full trailer for the new movie — which has already notched up more than 36m views on YouTube alone.

Odeon Cinemas Ireland said the past week has been one of its busiest ever for online activity, with thousands of fans clamouring to secure seats, and sales in the hundreds every hour.

To cater for the demand, Odeon chiefs are putting on as many as 20 screenings in 24-hour periods on some days, in both 2D and 3D, across their 11 cinemas.

An Odeon spokesperson said: “It’s been one of our busiest weeks ever for online bookings, and we’re delighted that thousands of guests have successfully secured their seats or Star Wars: The Force Awakens, with hundreds more joining them every hour.”

The Force is also strong at the movies@cinemas outlets in Dundrum and Swords, with as many as 27 screenings — mainly in 3D — scheduled for the first day of the film’s release. One of the earliest 3D screenings at movies@dundrum, at just after midnight on December 17, has already sold out.

Worldwide, the frenzy saw more than 200,000 pre-sale tickets sold within the first 24 hours of release last Monday — more than any other previous flick.

The film, part of which was shot on Skellig Michael off the Kerry coast, stars members of the original cast, including Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher, as well as a string of new stars, including Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson.