There has been an awakening and Ireland and the UK have truly felt it with record breaking takings for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Opening at midnight fans flocked to cinemas to be the first to see the hugely anticipated next episode in the Star Wars saga which has taken an estimated £9.6 million on its opening day setting a new UK and Ireland industry record. Midnight screenings alone accounted for £2.4 million of the days box office smashing all previous records. Tickets for the highly anticipated film went on sale in October and sold more than 200,000 tickets throughout Ireland and the UK in the 1st 24 hours. The one day take in Ireland was a record-breaking €836,845.
Exhibitors continually added screens to accommodate demand which resulted in a total of 2 million booked tickets ahead of the release – breaking another record for advanced ticket bookings. Commenting of this amazing feat, Trish Long, Vice President and General Manager of Disney in Ireland, had this to say, "We are obviously very encouraged by both the record-breaking presales and delighted with the opening day box office for Star Wars: The Force Awakens in Ireland. But there are literally thousands of tickets available for this weekend, and Irish exhibitors have a lot of flexibility in terms of capacity and increasing the number of shows based on demand."
Exhibitors continually added screens to accommodate demand which resulted in a total of 2 million booked tickets ahead of the release – breaking another record for advanced ticket bookings. Commenting of this amazing feat, Trish Long, Vice President and General Manager of Disney in Ireland, had this to say, "We are obviously very encouraged by both the record-breaking presales and delighted with the opening day box office for Star Wars: The Force Awakens in Ireland. But there are literally thousands of tickets available for this weekend, and Irish exhibitors have a lot of flexibility in terms of capacity and increasing the number of shows based on demand."
