Fans line up for ‘Star Wars’ screenings

PARSIPPANY - Fans were out in force Thursday evening, eagerly awaiting the first screenings of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” the seventh theatrical release in the franchise and the first in more than a decade.

The first screenings of the film began at 7 p.m. Thursday at Bow Tie Cinemas in Parsippany, but people were lined up about two hours beforehand, some in costume, ready to return to a galaxy far, far away.

One of the first in line at 5 p.m. was A.G. Moffatt of Denville, with his wife and children, Brendan, 14, Reagan, 11, and Cooper, 9.

He said they were all big fans, especially Cooper, who was dressed head-to-toe in a Chewbacca outfit.

“I recall seeing the original movie in 1977; it was the first movie I ever saw,” said A.G. He has been to opening day for all six Star Wars movies and remembers taking his oldest son Brendan, to his first movie, “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith,” in 2005.

Moffatt said before the Internet and online ticket ordering, he and his wife would attend premieres, standing in long lines wrapped around the theater and seeing people camped out in sleeping bags.

“Now, it’s so much easier. I can take the whole family on a school night and see an earlier show,” he said.

The Moffatt family got their choice of where to sit in the theater as one of the first in line. They agreed to sit as far back as possible so they could see better.

“I’m hoping to see if Luke comes back,” said Cooper. “Maybe he’s back home on Tatooine.”

Directed by J.J. Abrams, who earlier this decade similarly revived the dormant “Star Trek” franchise, the film unites the cast from the original trilogy - including Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher - with newcomers John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, and Oscar Isaac.

Early reviews of the film have been overwhelmingly positive, calling the movie a return to form following the generally reviled prequel trilogy that came out in the late 90s and early 2000s.

After more than 200 reviews were logged on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film had a score of 95 percent, meaning 19 of every 20 reviews have been positive. There have even been enough critical raves to warrant Academy Awards buzz.

All the stars are aligned for a massive opening weekend as the historic film has a stranglehold on the zeitgeist just one week before Christmas.

With security a top priority given recent events in the country and world, fans at the Parsippany theater, located at 3165 Route 46, were not permitted to bring their lightsabers into the screenings.

Bow Tie Cinemas management posted a notice on its website stating, “Star Wars costumes are welcome. However, no face coverings, face paint, capes, cloaks, simulated weapons (including lightsabers/blasters) will be allowed in the building.”

Chris Bidwell, a manager at Bow Tie Cinemas, said the rule was in place to make sure everyone in the theater is safe and comfortable.

Bidwell said they haven’t sold this many advanced tickets in quite a while and there was no danger of the theater selling out of tickets.

“We can add additional screens and open more theaters,” he said. “We’ve been preparing for this for awhile and have had big movies in the past so we’re ready. Adding this Thursday night show as opposed to a midnight screening makes it more accessible for families to attend these type of events.”

Bidwell said he was excited to see the movie as well. “I love all of the Star Wars movies, even the prequels, but I hope this brings it back to being as good as the original trilogies. We shall see.”

Box office tracking conservatively suggests the film will post an opening weekend between $180 and $220 million in North America, though some predictions skew even higher.

The current opening weekend record holder is “Jurassic World,” which posted an opening of more than $208 million in June. Movies typically have larger opening weekends in the summer, as opposed to the holidays when families may be busier, but films released during the holidays tend to gross more over an extended period of time. “Avatar,” the current record-holder, opened to about $77 million but ended up grossing more than $760 million in North America.

Worldwide, “The Force Awakens” is expected to gross several billion dollars. The previous highest-grossing film worldwide was “Avatar,” with nearly $2.79 billion, but international box office has grown substantially since that film was released in 2009, so many expect that record to fall as well.

Adding to the record-breaking expectations, “The Force Awakens” has already sold more than $100 million in advance tickets prior to opening weekend. But while many shows are sold out, and tickets are going fast, many more theaters still have open seats this weekend.

People should purchase tickets in advance if possible to ensure a seat, using the theater’s website or a movie ticket service like Fandango.

“The Force Awakens,” which is screening in more than 4,100 theaters on multiple screens in most venues nationwide, still shows available tickets for most shows in all Morris County movie theaters this weekend as of Thursday afternoon.

Staff Writer Michael Izzo: 973-428-6636; mizzo@GannettNJ.com