Star Wars: The Force Awakens Breaks Advance Ticket Sales Record in Russia

When we say Star Wars is a global phenomenon, this is exactly what we're talking about.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens has sold more than 15,000 tickets ahead of its release - in Russia alone. That's a record, THR reports, and is following a trend across the globe. Russia's 3,800 screens won't all be dedicated to The Force Awakens, of course, but the growing film market there will definitely help when the movie hits Russian theaters on December 17 - a day before the official release in the U.S.

The largest gross of all time in Russia is also the largest worldwide gross of all time, Avatar. The 2009 film made $56.3 million dollars in the Russian market. Disney and Sony have a shared distributor in Russia, managed by Anton Sirenko, who said he thinks The Force Awakens could surpass that, though he wouldn't commit to any official forcast ahead of release. The weakening of the ruble, Russia's currency, may hurt the possibility of a higher gross, though.