“Star Wars” fans, fear not: You can still get your tickets for the opening weekend of “The Force Awakens.”
Tickets for the film went on sale on Monday night and since have broken various presale records, grossing over $6.5 million for IMAX screenings alone — but many fans are worried that they won’t be able to see the film when it opens on Dec. 18.
In some cases, they have reason to be concerned. Even though J.J. Abrams‘ eagerly awaited seventh installment in the sci-fi franchise has been booked in every one of IMAX’s 390 North American commercial theaters, many Thursday night shows have completely sold out over the past 24 hours.
In addition, AMC reported that it had sold out more than 1,000 screenings in less than 12 hours. But theater chains and exhibitors are scrambling to add more showings of “The Force Awakens.”
“Movie theaters are continually adding new show times on Fandango to meet the phenomenal demand,” a Fandango spokesperson told TheWrap on Tuesday. The same is true for other online ticket vendors, such as MovieTickets.com.
On Tuesday afternoon, AMC reported that it still had 4 million tickets available for opening weekend, including showings in IMAX, 3D and Dolby Cinema at AMC Prime and AMC Dine-in Theatres.
But the demand for opening-weekend showings is already leading to some extraordinary efforts: 12 AMC locations nationwide are set to remain open for 24 hours to accommodate more moviegoers on opening night, with more theaters likely to follow suit.
Four AMC theaters in New York City, two in Houston, two in Chicago, and one in Denver, Atlanta, Ft. Lauderdale and Seattle are currently among those staying open round the clock.
But fans wanting to see “The Force Awakens” at the AMC Disney Springs 24 in Orlando, Florida, are out of luck as well: According to the theater chain, the “Star Wars” Opening Night event sold out in a matter of hours — in total, 17 showtimes sold out.