Star Wars: The Force Awakens shatters pre-sale records, epic IMAX poster revealed

It’s hardly a surprise that Star Wars: The Force Awakens ticket pre-sales have been impressive, but the sheer magnitude is jaw-dropping. Not only did the iconic franchise’s forthcoming installment take over The Hunger Games‘ record for most tickets sold on its first day, Fandango data shows that it did so eight times over. Additionally, IMAX pre-sales are also off the charts, reaching $6.5 million in domestic tickets alone. To top if off, a new Star Wars IMAX poster (pictured in full below) was recently revealed; basically Star Wars fever has hit hard.

The Force Awakens has claimed every IMAX pre-sale record for itself, topping the likes of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Dark Knight Rises, and Avengers, each of which generated about $1 million in their first reported pre-sales, according to Deadline. Shows have already sold out, with Fandango reporting that this is especially true of IMAX. Theaters are having to add additional show times in response to the exceptional demand.

The record is especially impressive considering the fact that Fandango (along with multiple other sites in the U.S., and across the pond) crashed under the weight of all those pre-sale ticket buyers.

“This is an extraordinary time for the industry, which experienced unprecedented ticketing demand last night for Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” a Fandango representative said in a statement. “The enthusiasm for this year’s most anticipated movie is out of this world and we expect it to continue all the way to its debut on Dec. 18.”Though it’s apparently not all that necessary, AMC recently launched an incentive for viewers to catch The Force Awakens in IMAX. The theater chain has offered up exclusive posters for IMAX viewers who attend Sunday showings between Dec. 20 and Jan. 10. The first of the lot was revealed Sunday, and, needless to say, it’s pretty epic.

Dan Mumford/AMC Theaters

The Force Awakens, which opens on Dec. 18, has been particularly exciting to fans because it brings back original cast members, including Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill, for the first time since the trilogy that started it all.