Star Wars: The Last Jedi tickets go on sale early
Showcase Cinemas' mobile app briefly allowed for early ticket purchases.
You may be running to buy "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" tickets tonight, or perhaps even sooner.
"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" tickets are going to be a hot commodity Monday night, so hot that some theaters might accidentally put them on sale early.
CNET found that the Showcase Cinemas mobile app, available on iOS and Android, briefly allowed for ticket purchases Monday for the movie -- hours before the film's next trailer is supposed to debut. We got a tip about the app working, then independently verified it for ourselves on both iOS and Android. However, as of 12:15 p.m. PT, the app appears to have suspended ticket sales.
Before that shutdown, anyone hoping to grab a ticket could do so by downloading the app, picking a theater, scrolling to one of the December dates following the movie's debut, then selecting a showtime and making a purchase. Showcase Cinemas locations are mainly located on the east coast of the US, so this early release was far from a major nationwide hiccup.
Showcase and its parent company, National Amusements, told CNET that they are looking into the issue. (Disclosure: CBS, which owns CNET, happens to to have National Amusements as its parent company.)
Those that made the deadline should still watch their email boxes: It's possible that tickets purchased early will not actually be honored, since the on-sale time is supposed to coincide with the new trailer's release during Monday Night Football in the US. That game is airing on ESPN, starting off at 5:15 p.m. PT (8:15 p.m. ET).
First published Oct. 9, 11:19 a.m. PT.
Update 12:15 p.m.: Adds that ticket purchases appear to have shut down.
Update 1:03 p.m.: Adds comment from Showcase Cinema.