Star Wars: The Force Awakens set to dominate IMAX screens
Launching the new Star Wars trilogy is totally unlike the opening of any other franchise. Disney and Lucasfilm know this, and have gone all-out to ensure every moviegoer has the opportunity to watch The Force Awakens on the biggest screen possible. The plan: book the film into every single IMAX screen across North America for its first four weeks.
There are approximately 375-400 IMAX screens in the US - with more thought to open prior to the movie's December release date - along with a majority of international screens likely to follow suit. If audiences respond favorably, there's a strong possibility of Episode VII obliterating the previous IMAX record held by Jurassic World. Seeing as director J.J. Abrams filmed one specific sequence using IMAX cameras, die-hard Force fans won't want to miss out on seeing a Star Wars film as it was intended.
Having such a monopoly on one of the most profitable portions of movie exhibition might spell danger for competing films. The Revenant and In The Heart Of The Sea open in the post-Christmas week, and are now effectively locked out of the IMAX market. And of course, if Episode VII's IMAX run proves to be a success, who's to say it won't get extended?
Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens worldwide on December 17.
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Gem Seddon is GamesRadar+'s west coast Entertainment News Reporter, working to keep all of you updated on all of the latest and greatest movies and shows on streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Outside of entertainment journalism, Gem can frequently be found writing about the alternative health and wellness industry, and obsessing over all things Aliens and Terminator on Twitter.