P4 A

P4 A – Distribution Channels

Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released in the UK on the 17^th December 2015 to the general public and although it was initially only available to watch in cinemas, other ways of watching the film did eventually come through.

On the 17th December 2015, Star Wars: The Force Awakens was made available in cinema’s all across the nation. For the first few months of the film’s release, audiences could only see the film by going to the cinema and paying for a ticket to watch the film. Some examples of cinema’s that were showing Star Wars: The Force Awakens were the Odeon, the Vue and the Showcase. In total, Star Wars: The Force Awakens was shown in 4,134 cinemas across the world and made $2,068,178,225 at the global box office making it the 3^rd highest grossing film at the box office of all time, beaten by only Titanic and Avatar.

A few months after the films initial release in December 2015, Star Wars: The Force Awakens became available on Blu-ray and DVD. As of the 1^st April 2016, the public were able to purchase a copy of Star Wars on either Blu-ray or DVD (with Blu-Ray being the more expensive and better quality option). All-in-all, Disney were able to amass a total of $120,009,903 from DVD and Blu-Ray sales alone which although is only a small profit when compared to the film’s box office statistics, it would have undoubtedly still been a good profit for Disney.

Another and more modern way of viewing the Star Wars: The Force Awakens has now came into existence thanks to the rise of TV and movies marketplaces. For example, PS3 and PS4 owners can purchase Star Wars: The Force Awakens from the PlayStation Store meanwhile Xbox 360 and Xbox One owners can purchase Star Wars: The Force Awakens from the Xbox Live Marketplace. Games console owners who make this transaction will have this film to keep as it will be stored on their console meaning it is ready for viewing at any given time.