Wookieepedia

READ MORE

Wookieepedia
Register
Advertisement
Wookieepedia
Star Wars Force Friday

Force Friday

Force Friday is a Star Wars merchandising event.

2015[]

The original Force Friday event was held on September 4, 2015. The event was a celebration of the release of Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens and features the release of the film's toy and action-figure line, a number of new novels and reference books that are part of the Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens initiative, and other merchandise such as cosmetics.[1]

As part of its marketing initiative, The Walt Disney Company partnered with nine major brands: Covergirl & Max Factor, Duracell, FCA US, Pottery Barn Kids, General Mills, HP, Subway and Verizon.[2] Toys "R" Us also confirmed its participation in Force Friday, being held at all of its locations in the United States with the sole exception of stores located in Paramus, New Jersey. Visitors received a free Star Wars: The Force Awakens poster. As part of its event, Toys "R" Us held a contest with the winner offered an exclusive "Midnight Madness VIP Shopping Spree." The winner was Thomas Burns of Jacksonville, Florida.[3] Walmart also participated in the event, offering an exclusive Star Wars collectible that was previewed at Comic Con.[4]

In addition to in-store events, merchandise was also offered simultaneously online at retailers such the Disney Store and Amazon.com.[5]

Online leaks confirmed the existence of action figures for major new characters in the film, such as Finn and Rey, as well as bobbleheads of these characters and others like BB-8 and Kylo Ren.[6] On August 24, 2015, Hasbro Inc. released a catalog of its planned offerings for the event. These included character masks, various action figures, a "Battle Action Millennium Falcon", Micro Machines vehicles and more.[7]

On September 3, the Star Wars YouTube channel live streamed a worldwide unboxing event by Maker Studios. The event was broadcast from fifteen major cities, leading up to the midnight release of Force Friday products.[8]

2016[]

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the Star Wars anthology film, received a Force Friday event on September 30, 2016.[9] Disney and Lucasfilm Ltd. announced the release of new toys in conjunction with its "Go Rogue" initiative, which encourages fans to create their own stories or skits in the Star Wars galaxy.[10]

2017[]

A Force Friday II event was held at midnight on September 1, 2017 for Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi.[11] Force Friday II was accompanied by an augmented reality event from September 1-3.[12]

2019[]

Triple Force Friday was held on October 4, 2019, and featured merchandise for Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker, the TV series The Mandalorian and the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.[13] On September 26, Anthony Carboni and Warwick Davis hosted a YouTube livestream from Pinewood Studios, in which cast members from all three projects assisted in unveiling some of the upcoming merchandise.[14]

Sources[]

Notes and references[]

  1. StarWars Star Wars: The Force Awakens Products to Arrive on 'Force Friday,' September 4 on StarWars.com (backup link)
  2. With the force of 'Star Wars,' Disney tightens grip on toy universe by Harwell, Drew on www.washingtonpost.com (August 17, 2015) (archived from the original on April 21, 2017)
  3. Toys "R" Us: Star Wars 2015 on www.toysrus.com (content obsolete and backup link not available)
  4. The Force is strong at Walmart: Company to offer a new generation of Star WarsTM merchandise at 12:01 a.m. on 'Force Friday' by Barron, Andy on news.walmart.com (July 9, 2015) (archived from the original on July 13, 2015)
  5. Sept. 4 'Force Friday' merchandise launch is meant to stoke fan fervor for next 'Star Wars' film on www.mercurynews.com (August 18, 2015) (archived from the original on August 12, 2020)
  6. Force Friday! A.K.A. Just Take All My Money, Disney! by Nutt, Shannon on www.highdefdigest.com (August 17, 2015) (archived from the original on October 18, 2017)
  7. Hasbro unveils 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' toys available 'Force Friday' by Smith, Troy on www.cleveland.com (August 24, 2015) (archived from the original on August 12, 2020)
  8. StarWars The Force Awakens Around the World: Star Wars Fans Invited to Join Global Event on YouTube on StarWars.com (backup link)
  9. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Is Getting Its Own Force Friday This September by Orange, B. on movieweb.com (February 13, 2016) (archived from the original on February 24, 2017)
  10. StarWars Go Rogue Now: UGC Contest Open and Rogue One Toys Hits Stores on StarWars.com (backup link)
  11. Disney plans midnight 'Star Wars' event to unveil 'Last Jedi' toys by Richwine, Lisa on whtc.com (February 16, 2017) (archived from the original on August 12, 2020)
  12. StarWars Announcing Force Friday II's "Find the Force" AR Event on StarWars.com (backup link)
  13. StarWars Triple Force Friday Announced on StarWars.com (backup link)
  14. StarWars A Galaxy of Star Wars Stars Count Down to Triple Force Friday on StarWars.com (backup link)
In other languages
Advertisement