The Force is strong with sci-fi fans in Ireland and the UK after advance ticket sales for Star Wars: The Force Awakens smashed all previous records. In Ireland a number of the early screenings in December have already sold out.
The seventh film in the series, sold more than 200,000 pre-sale cinema tickets within the first 24 hours of release - more than any other previous film, including the equally massively-hyped Fifty Shades Of Grey.
Many fans around the world were left frustrated after some cinema websites crashed and struggled to cope with the high demand when the tickets went on sale on Monday morning.
Here in Ireland there's no details yet on the volume of advance sales but the movie's distributor says that a number of screenings taking place after midnight on opening day have already sold out.
A spokesperson for Disney Ireland today said, "We are thrilled that audiences are so excited about the film and we can’t wait for them to see it."
The advance sales coincided with the release of the full trailer for the new Star Wars flick on Monday - so far it has clocked up over 28 million views on YouTube alone.
The JJ Abrams-directed film is a continuation of the saga created by George Lucas and is set 30 years after Star Wars: Episode VI - Return Of The Jedi.
The movie - which features scenes filmed on Skellig Michael off the Kerry coast - stars returning legends Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker alongside new arrivals to a galaxy far, far away, including John Boyega, Lupita Nyong'o, Oscar Isaac and Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens in Ireland on December 17.
