Advance tickets for the anticipated blockbuster “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” are already on sale in many cities but not everywhere. Many rural theaters will sell tickets the old-fashioned way. No matter what, theater owners everywhere expect a record crowd.
“It will be all hands on deck and just be kind of ready for a small war and hopefully we’ll win the battle,” said Chris Wagner, owner of the Blue Fox Theatre in Grangeville and the Rex Theatre in Orofino, which both plan to screen the movie opening nationally at 7 p.m. Dec. 17. Tickets at those theaters will be available at the box office before each showing.
At Village Centre Cinemas in Lewiston, Moscow and Pullman, advance tickets go on sale at 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16 said owner Drew Devlin by email. Tickets will be for sale at each theater’s website and box office.
Maybe you’ve heard that some theaters will hold marathon showings of the previous six “Star Wars” films leading up to the new movie’s premiere. That will only happen at 150 top grossing theaters in the U.S. selected by the distribution company, Walt Disney Studios, Devlin said.
The nearest marathon showings are at AMC River Park Square 20 in Spokane and Edwards Boise 21 in Boise, according to starwars.com.
Both Devlin and Wagner said no special events were planned at their theaters in regards to the film. Devlin said multiple show times will be available at the Quad Cities’ theaters each day and it will be offered in 3D and 2D formats. He said the film is approximately 136 minutes long with an anticipated PG-13 rating.
The Orofino and Grangeville theaters will have multiple showings daily for the first three or four days, Wagner said. The film will be shown in 2D at those theaters and will likely stay for four weeks in following with the distribution company’s guidelines.
He expects the film to be the biggest movie opening he’s ever dealt with.
“It should be huge. It’s supposed to open at $215 million the first three days; that’s what the box office estimates. … It’s going to be the biggest box office opening ever if the box office is right and they’re usually right within 10 percent.”
