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You Can Buy 'Star Wars' Tickets Now, or You Can Just Buy Them Later

Breathe, folks.
Image: Disney

Star Wars: The Force Awakens tickets just went on sale. And with it, thousands (millions?) of people are flooding Fandango, taking to Twitter, and generally having a really bad time trying to secure a seat to watch a movie two months from now.

Fandango is working intermittently. Some of my friends got tickets, some did not. People are angry. People are gloating. This is, perhaps, part of the fun. But I'll let you in on a secret: You do not have to buy Star Wars tickets right now. If you want to have them in your email inbox so you can join the conversation at tomorrow's water cooler, then fine. If you want to secure a ticket for the optimal theater at the optimal time in the optimal seat, then fine. But if you just want to like, see Star Wars on opening night, you'll be able to do it, even if you dilly dally right now.

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So many conversations like this are happening right now. Screengrab: Author

Chances are, it'll work out better if you just chill and buy tickets later like a normal person. Already, two friend groups have texted me, have bought tickets for conflicting times at conflicting theaters for a conflicting number of people. Part of this is because it's hard to know who wants to do what two months from now. A better plan would be to wait, say, until two or three days before the movie is released, go on Fandango or head over to your movie theater's box office, and buy tickets to whatever showing it has available, for whoever actually wants to go.

trying to buy some Star Wars tix and seems like every website has crashed. Hope Disney is doing a press screening!
— Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) October 20, 2015

And there will be tickets, because this is not the Super Bowl. It's not even a Taylor Swift concert. Tickets sell out and prices go up when supply is limited, but supplies of tickets to a movie are (relatively speaking) not limited. Screenings will be added, before and after whatever showings have already sold out. Theaters will be overtaken and movies that are not Star Wars will be jettisoned. I know it's a hard decision, but your local Regal or AMC Cinemas will bump Alvin and the Chipmunks: Road Chip for a 17th screening of Star Wars. Chances are, you'll be able to see it even earlier than your cubicle-mate who is hyperventilating right now, because some of the screenings it adds will be before whatever it's advertising right now. Because Disney's goal is to put this in front of as many eyeballs as is humanly possible, it's all going to be OK.

Use patience, you must.