The Force Awakens breaks ticket records
1. The new Star Wars movie will not open in cinemas until December, but it is already attracting huge interest online.
2. Pre-sales tickets for 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' went on sale yesterday and broke all ticket records.
3. In the USA, the nation's largest online ticket seller, Fandango, said it had so many visitors that its site crashed.
4. It had to apologise to people who could not visit the site.
5. A Fandango spokesperson said: "For Star Wars, we have already sold eight times as many tickets as we did on the first day of sales for the previous record holder."
6. He added: "The enthusiasm for this year's most anticipated movie is out of this world and we expect it to continue all the way to its debut on December 18."
7. 'The Force Awakens' is the seventh movie to be released in the Star Wars franchise. Disney released the film's latest trailer on Monday night and it soon went viral worldwide.
8. Many top international news stations covered the story in their prime time news bulletins.
9. The trailer currently has 13 million views on YouTube and this number is likely to get a lot bigger.
10. Box office analyst Phil Contrino said the movie could also break box office records when it opens.
11. It is possible it will be the highest earning movie ever made.
12. Mr Contrino said: "The Force Awakens will hit $1 billion without blinking. If it's really good, it could cross $2 billion."
13. Star Wars fans will be happy to know that plans are already in place for Star Wars VIII and IX.