Prepare to get even more excited about Star Wars: The Force Awakens. According to the Hollywood Reporter, when the movie comes out on December 18, it will do so on all of North America’s Imax screens, as well most of its foreign ones for the entire first month of its release. And for those who need more Star Wars now, Lucasfilm and Disney are unveiling the latest film’s entire toy line during an 18-hour YouTube marathon on September 3.
Here are more details about the toy launch:
The “Countdown to Force Friday” event will launch in Sydney, Australia at 7:45am local time, before leapfrogging to Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, Berlin, Paris, Madrid, London, Rio De Janeiro, New York, Toronto, Chicago, Mexico City, San Francisco and Los Angeles across the broadcast, during which products from the Force Awakens toyline will be unboxed for the first time. Each of the 15 locations will feature the reveal of a new product by a personality from Disney’s Maker Studios video network.
The next day, September 4, is known as “Force Friday,” where over 1000 stores will open on midnight for Star Wars fans to buy the just-unveiled toys and the movie’s tie-in novels for the first time.
As for the Imax deal, the movie will open on 375 to 400 large-format Imax screens domestically, though final numbers haven’t been determined yet. The movie will play on Imax in various cinema chains, as well as in museums and other sites with Imax screens.
This promises to be a lucrative deal for both parties, since Star Wars is set to make even more money than Jurassic World did for Imax’s box office. In addition, Star Wars has crowded out competing December movies, such as the Leonardo Dicaprio vehicle The Revenant.
