Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer to Premiere on Thanksgiving Weekend

Last week, we reported the rumor that Disney might take a unique approach to releasing their first Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer by showing it in front of every movie at select theaters over Thanksgiving weekend. Granted, the Thanksgiving weekend is traditionally one of the biggest of the year for the box office, but why only release it only a handful of theaters (the original reddit post regarding this rumor had it pegged at 100)?

I was a bit dubious about this news, but we now have official confirmation as Regal has posted on their website that nine of their theaters will have the trailer running in front of every movie from November 28 – November 30th. Hit the jump for more on the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer, and to find out where you can see it. [Update 1: Abrams himself has now confirmed that the trailer will debut this weekend, adding that it will be 88 seconds in length. Take a look at the note after the jump.] [Update 2: The full list of theaters playing the trailer has been announced. Click here to see if it's playing near you.]

[EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/bad_robot/status/536950878310129664[/EMBED_TWITTER]

Regal [via Screen Crush] posted the following theaters on their website:

CA - Irvine — Edwards Irvine Spectrum 22 & IMAX
CA - San Diego — Edwards Mira Mesa Stadium 18 IMAX & RPX
GA - Atlanta — Regal Atlantic Station Stadium 18 IMAX & RPX
IL - Chicago — Regal City North Stadium 14 IMAX & RPX
NY - New York — Regal Union Square Stadium 14
PA - Warrington — Regal Warrington Crossing Stadium 22 & IMAX
TN - Knoxville — Regal Pinnacle Stadium 18 IMAX & RPX
TX - Houston — Edwards Houston Marq'E Stadium 23 IMAX & RPX
WA - Seattle — Regal Thornton Place Stadium 14 & IMAX

Since this part of the reddit rumor turned out to be true, I'm now inclined to believe the full post:

For next weekend only (not sure if it’s Fri/Sat/Sun or just Sat/Sun) a 90 second trailer for the new Star Wars will appear before every single showtime for every single movie at 100 theaters nationwide. I don’t know exactly which theaters (except for one). Word has it Disney told all theaters getting the trailer that Big Hero 6 had to be the earliest showtime for each day (assuming that the fans will all buy a ticket to the earliest showing possible).

That's a great strategy until you hit the afternoon EST on November 28th and the trailer has been bootlegged and uploaded to YouTube. Of course, true Star Wars fans won't want to see the trailer that way, and I'm sure they'll be lining up to catch the earliest showing of the day just for those sweet ninety seconds (also, Big Hero 6 is really good, so you're not spending $10 – 20 to see one trailer).

While this is great news for Star Wars fans, I'm really excited for the average moviegoer who doesn't keep up with this news. Imagine the scenario: A family has decided they're going to go see a movie. They decide to see The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 a second time because the kids loved it so much the first time. They buy their expensive snacks, get a good seat, settle in, and then they unexpectedly get a trailer for a new Star Wars movie. That's pretty cool.

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