--- title: Star Wars 7 the Force Awakens Release Date U.K. description: 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' will release in the U.K. 24 hours earlier than the U.S. release canonical: https://time.com/4024868/star-wars-7-release-date/ author: Entertainment Weekly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-08T14:21:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:01:45.673Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: These Lucky Fans Will See 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Before You og:description: The force is strong with the U.K. og:url: https://time.com/4024868/star-wars-7-release-date/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb05ac4c57b1ce49a/698862875f570f3e3bb1d445/star-wars.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Star Wars: The Force Awakens..Ph: Film Frame..©Lucasfilm 2015 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: These Lucky Fans Will See 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Before You twitter:description: The force is strong with the U.K. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb05ac4c57b1ce49a/698862875f570f3e3bb1d445/star-wars.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # These Lucky Fans Will See _Star Wars: The Force Awakens_ Before You by [Jonathon Dornbush / Entertainment Weekly](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Jonathon Dornbush / Entertainment Weekly Sep 8, 2015 2:21 PM UTC  Lucasfilm 2015 Lucasfilm 2015Ph: Film Frame ©Lucasfilm 2015 by [Jonathon Dornbush / Entertainment Weekly](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Jonathon Dornbush / Entertainment Weekly Sep 8, 2015 2:21 PM UTC The force is strong with the U.K., as _Star Wars: The Force Awakens_ will hit the region a little earlier than previously anticipated. The official U.K. _Star Wars_ [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/StarWars.UK/videos/vb.216676368377759/1000686526643402/?type=2&theater) and Twitter pages confirmed that the J.J. Abrams-directed entry in the franchise will arrive in theaters on Dec. 17, a day earlier than the U.S. release on Dec. 18. > [](https://twitter.com/StarWarsUK/status/641023410093494272) And before you begin booking a ticket for Heathrow, as [_BBC_](http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/34183688/uk-star-wars-release-date-brought-forward) notes, this date isn’t the earliest debut for the first new _Star Wars_ film in a decade. The film will open first in the United Arab Emirates, where parts of it were filmed, on Dec. 15; and in France, Italy, and several other European nations on Dec. 16. Whether the wait is 102, 101, 100, or 99 days, fans can prepare by checking out the latest on the new _Star Wars_ novel [_Star Wars: Aftermath_](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/04/star-wars-aftermath-force-awakens)_,_ the newly unveiled [_Star Wars_ toys](http://ew.com/gallery/star-wars-toys), and more from [EW’s continuing coverage of the film](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/17/complete-rundown-ews-star-wars-force-awakens-week). _This_ [_article_](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/08/star-wars-force-awakens-uk-release-date) _originally appeared on_ [_EW.com_](http://www.ew.com) ### You'll Want These New Star Wars Toys Immediately  Star Wars Black Series; Kylo Ren Hasbro  Star Wars Black Series; Rey Hasbro  Star Wars Black Series; Finn Hasbro  Star Wars Black Series; First Order Stormtrooper Hasbro  Star Wars The Force Awakens Armor Up; Chewbacca Hasbro  Star Wars The Force Awakens Armor Up; Poe Hasbro  Star Wars The Force Awakens Armor Up; Finn Hasbro  Star Wars The Force Awakens; 12" Stormtrooper Hasro  Star Wars The Force Awakens; 12" Finn Hasbro  Star Wars The Force Awakens Build a Weapon; Tie Fighter Pilot Hasbro  Star Wars The Force Awakens Build a Weapon; Rebellion Pilot Hasbro  Star Wars The Force Awakens Build a Weapon; Rey Hasbro  Star Wars The Force Awakens Build a Weapon; Kylo Ren Hasbro  Star Wars The Force Awakens Build a Weapon; Capt. Phasma Hasbro  Star Wars The Force Awakens; Darth Vader and Ahsoka Tano Hasbro  Star Wars The Force Awakens; Dessert Mission Hasbro  Star Wars The Force Awakens; Han Solo and Princess Leia Hasbro  Star Wars The Force Awakens; Stormtrooper Commander and Obi Wan Kenobi Hasbro  Star Wars The Force Awakens; Speeder Bike Hasbro  Hot WheelsStar Wars The Force AwakensEdition; First Order Stormtrooper Vehicle, Kylo Ren Character Car and BB-8 Car Mattel ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4024868/star-wars-7-release-date/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4024868/star-wars-7-release-date/"},"headline":"These Lucky Fans Will See Star Wars: The Force Awakens Before You","datePublished":"2015-09-08T14:21:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:01:45.673Z","description":"The U.K. will see the film a full 24 hours earlier","url":"https://time.com/4024868/star-wars-7-release-date/","keywords":["movies","Star Wars topic","star wars: the force awakens"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb05ac4c57b1ce49a/698862875f570f3e3bb1d445/star-wars.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jonathon Dornbush / Entertainment Weekly"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb05ac4c57b1ce49a/698862875f570f3e3bb1d445/star-wars.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Star Wars: The Force Awakens..Ph: Film Frame..©Lucasfilm 2015","caption":"Star Wars: The Force Awakens..Ph: Film Frame..©Lucasfilm 2015","creditText":"Ph: Film Frame ©Lucasfilm 2015","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4024868/star-wars-7-release-date/","name":"These Lucky Fans Will See Star Wars: The Force Awakens Before You"}}]}] ```