Star Wars: The Force Awakens breaks Fandango’s all-time ticket sales record

Even before opening in theaters nationwide, Star Wars: The Force Awakens broke online movie ticket seller Fandango's record for most tickets sold for any film during its entire theatrical run. What makes this feat so amazing is that it was done during the pre-release window.

“’The Force Awakens’ is a genuine cultural phenomenon,” said Fandango President Paul Yanover. “The extraordinary ticketing demand is truly unprecedented. It is Fandango’s top-selling movie of all time, even before it has even hit theater screens. It’s great to see that all fans can enjoy the ‘Star Wars’ experience, as our theater partners continue to add new screens and new showtimes every day.”

“We are obviously very encouraged by the record-breaking presales for ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens,’” added Dave Hollis, Executive Vice President, Theatrical Distribution at Walt Disney Pictures, “but there are literally millions of tickets available for this weekend, and exhibitors have a lot of flexibility in terms of capacity and increasing the number of shows based on demand.”

Star Wars: The Force Awakens now sits atop Fandango's list of ticket-sellers, dethroning previous holder Jurassic World, which also released this year. Here's the new top five.

1. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (2015)
2. “Jurassic World” (2015)
3. “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” (2013)
4. “Avengers: Age of Ultron” (2015)
5. “The Hunger Games” (2012)