Star Wars: The Force Awakens has smashed Australian pre-sales records clocking up more than five times the previous high water mark at Event Cinemas.
The Disney/Lucas Films epic raked in $5.2 million in pre-sales at Event Cinemas alone, surpassing the record set by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in 2011.
Event Hospitality and Entertainment chief executive, David Seargeant, told IF the demand was unprecedented.
"It's lived up to the hype and the occasion," he said.
"It's huge. Our premium offers are very heavily booked, gold class has been in huge demand.
Seargeant said pre-sales were five times Harry Potter ($5.2 million).
"For the next couple of weeks there is huge demand. All our peak time sessions are fully booked and the demand is unprecedented.
"And the fans, it's hard to describe the awe in which this film is held. There is cheering in the cinemas."
JJ Abrams intergalactic adventure looks likely to beat the record $18.3 million debut of the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.
The final instalment of the Harry Potter series midnight screenings collected $2.4 million and the Warner Bros/Roadshow release finished with $52.5 million.
Seargeant said he had never seen a film with so much expectation placed on it.
"The desire by all those hardcore fans to see it multipe times," he said.
"It's too early to tell what records other records it will break. It's hard to compare with Avatar. Avatar opened without the hype and built on amazing word of mouth. Star Wars had this massive awareness."
Jamers Cameron's Avatar holds the Australian all time box office record at $115 million.
Event Cinemas is part of the Event Hospitality and Entertainment group, formerly Amalgamated Holdings Limited.
Hoyts screened 1200 session of the film for 24 straight hours on Thursday.
It will show more than 7,000 sesssions in the opening week including screenings on Xtremescreen, IMAX and Hoyts LUX.