The Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer Will Only Screen In These 9 Theaters
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Thanksgiving Weekend is shaping up to be a big one for movie fans. Of course you’re all going to run out to see Horrible Bosses 2, or maybe check out The Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part 1 for the third of fourth time, but we’re also going to get our first look at the first trailers for two of our most anticipated movies of 2015. During the annual football extravaganza on Thursday, we’ll get our first look at the trailer for Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World, the next chapter in the Jurassic Park saga, and as it turns out, if you head to the theater this weekend, you could see that much talked about trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. At least if you’re lucky enough to live near one of a few theaters.
According to their sources, Slashfilm says that over the weekend the trailer for J.J. Abrams’ new addition to the Star Wars canon is scheduled to start making the rounds in movie theaters. So that means we could be a scant few days away from getting our first actual look at a new Star Wars movie, which is something we’re all thankful for indeed. No rumors, no descriptions, no leaked concept art, or set photos taken by drones or spy planes, but actual, honest-to-god footage from The Force Awakens. Odds are this preview won’t reveal much, but what the hell, at least it’s something real and concrete to talk about.
But don’t get too excited just yet, because the list of theaters you’ll be able to see The Force Awakens trailer at is small, like single digits small. There were originally reports that up to 100 theaters would show the preview, but that’s apparently not the case. Regal Cinemas has said that nine theaters will show the trailer this weekend, yes, nine. Considering Mockingjay just opened in more than 4000 in the U.S. alone, that’s not many.
Here’s the list of places you’ll be able to see this first look:
Irvine, CA — Edwards Irvine Spectrum 22 & IMAX
San Diego, CA — Edwards Mira Mesa Stadium 18 & IMAX
Atlanta, GA — Regal Atlantic Station Stadium 18 & IMAX
Chicago, IL — Regal City North Stadium 14 & IMAX
New York, NY — Regal Union Square Stadium 14
Warrington, PA — Regal Warrington Crossing Stadium 22 & IMAX
Knoxville, TN — Regal Pinnacle Stadium 18 IMAX
Houston, TX — Edwards Houston Marq’E Stadium 23 & IMAX
Seattle, WA — Regal Thornton Place Stadium 14 & IMAX
There’s at least a little silver lining, assuming you live in one of these nine cities or are dedicated enough to make the trek. The trailer will run from November 28-30 will play before every movie screening at these locations. So at least if you can’t see a movie you actually want to see, you can buy a ticket and still see the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer. You can always leave before Dumb and Dumber To starts.
This is a weird way to roll out the trailer. Disney has so many outlets at their disposal, from ABC to a variety of big time websites, that, in this day and age, such a stunt seems like a strange move. There are a ton of major cities that aren’t on this list, and with so much hype and so many people falling all over themselves to get the first look at the new Star Wars movie, it’s just begging for people to pirate it. Does Disney really want people to get their first look at this via some shitty iPhone video? Because that’s how a lot of folks are going to see this.
In the grand scheme of things, this doesn’t really matter much. The trailer will be online soon enough and we’ll all be able to watch it repeatedly and dissect in every conceivable way. And we still won’t be any closer to knowing what we’ll see on December 18, 2015.
