'Star Wars' breaks pre-sale records

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is breaking records and it's still a month to go before the hotly anticipated space opera opens in theaters. Insiders confirm that the seventh film in the hugely popular franchise has generated more than $50 million in advance ticket sales.

Fandango tells Variety that the picture is the biggest pre-seller in the history of the ticketing company, trumping the first “Hunger Games”. Most Imax screenings have sold out, but outside of those premium formats, there are tickets remaining of many shows on opening weekend. Theatre chains are continually adding extra showtimes to keep up with demand, a Fandango spokesman said.

MovieTickets.com, the USA's other major online ticketer reports that advance sales for Star Wars represent the most tickets ever sold for one film by the company when compared to all other films at the same point in roll out.

It's too early to give a sense of how many theatres “The Force Awakens” will screen on, but sources predict it will be on at least 4,000 theaters.