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| Author | Zoe Aresti |
Continuing to inspire thought and conversation around film in 2015, Digital Cinema Media (DCM) and FUEL, a marketing data intelligence platform, have taken a look at the social chatter around the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie, revealing exclusive data insights surrounding the film.
After 32 years, characters from the original Star Wars trilogy unite with new heroes and face new villains in their return to the big screen.
Rivalling SPECTRE for the title of biggest film of 2015, this is set to be one of the biggest films of all time. J.J. Abrams has left the Starship Enterprise to bring Star Wars back to the big screen and he’s signed up Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher.
Star Wars is one of the few cross-generational properties available to brands. Fans who experienced the originals theatrically have shared them with the next generation on home video, who are about to experience these new adventures with their own children. Brands looking to partner can consider either an all-ages approach or target specific demographics within the fan base. These audiences are hard-to-reach, upmarket, early-adopting and socially savvy. They’re trendsetters and consider film and the wider cinema experience to be a part of their social lives, and are film ambassadors amongst their friends. Conversation surrounding the film online is predominantly male-led (64%).
The film’s latest, and reportedly final, trailer has been hotly anticipated by fans, amassing over 112m views during its first 24 hours online, which is a record. Social presence for Star Wars is unparalleled. Each teaser trailer released has set a new global record for first day views, with the Star Wars teaser trailer receiving 1324% more views than Avengers Age of Ultron.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is already breaking records, as super fans across the country flooded cinema chains’ ticket websites in a rush to secure their seat when tickets went on sale last week. Many early screenings have completely sold out, with some of DCM’s exhibitors stating that they had sold more tickets to Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 48 hours than were pre-booked for SPECTRE!
Star Wars studio Disney reported that a record 200,000 plus tickets were sold in 24 hours, beating marks for Skyfall, SPECTRE, The Hunger Games and Fifty Shades of Grey.
The huge amount of buzz around the film also provides an unparalleled opportunity for advertisers to engage with these super fans in cinema’s engaging environment, with the biggest screen and the best sound and where audiences are relaxed and undistracted.
With cinemas set for 24 hour opening hours for the film, additional admissions will be on offer. The ad reel is selling fast, with 60% of the first week already sold out, but there’s still the chance to book into cinema’s most premium positions - the Content, Silver and Gold Spots. This is an opportunity not to be missed.
#ForceFriday
The theatrical return of Star Wars is already a global phenomenon with multiple retailers having participated in the Force Friday merchandising event on 4 September. The event took place 116 days before the film's release. It was streamed live in an 18 hour global unboxing event on YouTube, revealing pieces of merchandise that would be available. Film stars John Boyega and Daisy Ridley took part at UK Disney Store, with an estimated $1 billion in US sales, with an expected $3-5 billion globally. The #ForceFriday hashtag saw 325,767 mentions on Twitter from 226,173 users, with an estimated 903 million impressions.
The unprecedented demand for the release of the film is leading to speculation that The Force Awakens has the potential to be THE biggest film of all time, challenging Avatar for the mantle of highest-ever grossing movie.
Star Wars: the Force Awakens will be released in cinemas on 17 December 2015.
Download the full graphic here.