If you’re a ticketless New Yorker or Angeleno looking to catch “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” in an IMAX theater this weekend, your choices are becoming limited, an unscientific survey by TheWrap reveals.
On Tuesday, MovieTickets.com reported that advance sales on “The Force Awakens” were double those of “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and 20 percent higher than those for “Jurassic World,” and rival Fandango said tickets to the sci-fi saga represented more than 90 percent of its sales. More than 1,600 showings at AMC Theaters have been sold out, according to a spokesman for the second-largest U.S. theater chain.
Nonetheless, Disney, IMAX and the theaters have repeatedly stressed that “capacity will not be an issue.”
That’s because theater owners can and will adjust their schedules and showtimes to meet demand. The huge advance sales — $50 million three weeks ago and likely double that by now — give theater owners added flexibility to adjust and maximize their seating capacity. At AMC, for example, at least 36 locations will screen “The Force Awakens” round the clock. Since the movie is two hours, 16 minutes long, exhibitors will be able to squeeze in as many as 10 screenings per day.
“It goes without saying that we are thrilled to see the advance ticket sales and the interest this film has generated,” Dave Hollis, Disney’s head of distribution, told TheWrap Tuesday. “But we want moviegoers to know that if they want to see ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ this weekend, there are literally millions of seats available — many of them in their local multiplex.”
Elizabeth Frank, AMC’s chief content and programming officer, wasn’t surprised at the heavy demand and said the entire range of tickets remained at all of her chain’s roughly 345 locations, .
“You can’t get any broader than this movie when it comes to audience appeal,” she told TheWrap, “and this weekend and beyond AMC will offer consumers the opportunity to enjoy ‘Star Wars’ however they would like — evening, midnight or morning, IMAX, Dolby Cinema, 2D or 3D, big cities and small towns, even corporate events and children’s birthday parties. And there are plenty of tickets available for them all.”
The 392 IMAX theaters are a different story, however, since they represent a small portion of nation’s roughly 5,465 theaters. The medium of choice for Force fanatics has been a hot ticket since sales began, and a check of online ticket brokers Fandango and MovieTickets.com suggests the Thursday preview shows are all but sold out. So, too, are many of the opening weekend shows in Los Angeles and New York.
In L.A., Thursday night shows at the AMC Century City 15, TCL Chinese Theatre and AMC Universal CityWalk 19 are sold out except for the front rows. The situation is comparable in New York, where the AMC Empire 25, AMC Loews Kips Bay and AMC Loews 34th street have only 2 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. shows available.
There are still tickets available to more popular start times on Friday, but they’re primarily front row seats as well.
Things open up some on Saturday, but good seats for evening shows are already gone. L.A.’s TCL Chinese Theatre has around 100 seats available at the 8:45 a.m. showing. As of Monday, the 6 a.m. screening at AMC City Walk still had roughly two-thirds of its seats available. New York’s AMC Loews Kips Bay is still offering tickets for Saturday’s 8 a.m. screening.
“The Force Awakens” will begin early screenings at 7 p.m. on Thursday in 4,150 theaters, ahead of its official opening on Friday at theaters across North America.
Disney, IMAX and theater owners have been responding to reports of the huge advance sales by repeatedly noting that there are plenty of seats still available, out of concern that the buzz around “Star Wars” pre-sales will mislead consumers into thinking the movie is completely sold out. Typically, studios trumpet sellout numbers to build momentum that will attract more moviegoers.