‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Breaks Fandango All-Time Ticketing Record

As sure as the sun crests over the eastern skyline and retires in the west, sci-fi blockbuster Star Wars: the Force Awakens has busted the block and drawn in an expectedly bloated box-office windfall. Like the river, perpetually coursing downstream to empty into a basin, evaporate, and replenish its stores, cash flowed robustly for the film on its opening night, yesterday evening. It’s not as if we weren’t all practically assured this would happen. We knew things would end up this way. The Force Awakens and its complete financial domination are inevitable truths of life. The Force is a force of nature.

The latest ticket-sales record smashed by J.J. Abrams’ pop-cultural behemoth was noted at Deadline yesterday afternoon. Online ticketing service Fandango has relayed the statistics that The Force Awakens has sold the most tickets of any title during its entire theatrical run, and that what really makes this astonishing is that The Force Awakens achieved this feat all during presale. (We already knew that the latest Star Wars film had set Fandango’s record for most presale tickets moved, but taking the whole game before the game even starts is an entirely different accomplishment.) MovieTickets.com reported that a whopping 93% of all tickets sold in he last twenty-four hours were for The Force Awakens, a development that may be dismaying to the cast and crew of the counterprogrammed Sisters.

Total receipts for this thing have been estimated at anywhere from $1.5 to 2 billion, but as The Force Awakens continues to metastasize into the all-consuming cultural phenomenon and sold-out shows give way to heavily people re-watch shows, there’s no telling how big it could get.