PopCult Rudy Panucci on Pop Culture

An Early Jump on Force Friday

The PopCult Toybox

It’s a bonus PopCult toybox this week. As I told you about almost a month ago, Friday is the big day in the United States for the release of toys based on Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Force Friday actually just kicked off in Australia (don’t ask how they managed to be more than 24 hours ahead of us).

UPDATED 7 PM EDT: They’ve already had their first unboxing. You can watch all of the live stream events right here in PopCult…

That’s right, it’s the start of Force Friday on a Wednesay afternoon. A deluge of official Star Wars: The Force Awakens merchandise will officially hit store shelves worldwide. As I told you earlier, to mark the occasion, Lucasfilm is hosting dozens of worldwide stunts, including an 18-hour unboxing event that will unfold across 15 cities and 12 countries, highlighting the range of epic merchandise revealed in a rolling New Year’s Eve style celebration featuring top digital stars from the Maker Studios network.

The Star Wars YouTube channel will host the live stream and they have graciously made that stream available for embedding. The event kicked off with the first unboxing in Sydney, Australia at 7:45 a.m. local time on Thursday, Sept. 3 (5:45 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, Sept. 2), with the grand finale at Lucasfilm in San Francisco at 8 a.m. PDT (11 a.m. EDT) on Thursday, Sept. 3. Each of the 15 locations will reveal a new product inspired by Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The whole thing is an epic, eighteen-hour infomercial for the new Star Wars toys.

The global unboxing event will incorporate traditional toy unboxers such as the popular EvanTubeHD, channels featuring families such as Bratayley, lifehack specialists such as ExpCaseros, gamers such as AlexBy11 and Star Wars fans from around the world, including Chris Pirillo.  Here’s a list of the unboxings and their hosts, with all times EDT:

Sydney               Bratayley                 05:45   PM 9/2
Tokyo                 Einshine                   10:00 PM 9/2
Seoul                  Dollastic                   11:00 PM 9/2
Hong Kong        Dante Basco            12:00 AM 9/3
Paris                   AyPierre                  03:00 AM 9/3
Madrid               AlexBy11                  05:00 AM 9/3
Berlin                  Reyst                       06:00 AM 9/3
London               GamingBeaver       06:30 AM 9/3
Rio de Janeiro    Malena                   07:30 AM 9/3
New York             EvanTubeHD       08:30 AM 9/3
Toronto                 Quill18                 09:00 AM 9/3
Chicago                 HobbyKidsTV      09:30 AM 9/3
Mexico City          ExpCaseros          10:30 AM 9/3
San Francisco      Chris Pirillo          11:00 AM 9/3

The global celebration culminates at midnight local time, when many retailers around the world will open their doors to fans to purchase Star Wars: The Force Awakens toys, collectibles, books, apparel and more.

From Starwars.com comes this list of other Force Friday events:

This Friday, there will indeed be an awakening…for Star Wars collectors everywhere.

September 4, a.k.a. Force Friday — the highly-anticipated midnight release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens toys, collectibles, gadgets, and more — is almost here. It will be the world’s first chance to own official product celebrating the next installment of the Star Wars saga, and several retailers have, to quote Admiral Piett, “something special planned.” Check out StarWars.com’s special event guide below and may the Force (Friday) be with you!

Amazon.com: Amazon.com is celebrating Force Friday by offering customers access to a variety of new Star Wars products, as well as deals on select Star Wars items. Customers can visit Amazon’s Star Wars Store to find a wide selection of new toys and games, including Amazon exclusives, deals, and much more.

Amazon will also be hosting a giveaway of the Star Wars Legendary Jedi Master Yoda, Collector Box Edition on Facebook. For more details, visit https://www.facebook.com/AmazonToysandGames!

Disney Store: Disney Store locations in New York City in Times Square, Chicago on Michigan Avenue, and San Francisco on Stockton Street will participate in Force Friday midnight madness! Doors will open at 12:01 a.m. local time on September 4, giving fans the first opportunity to see and purchase toys, collectibles, books, apparel, and more from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. In addition, the first 1,000 guests will receive a free Star Wars: The Force Awakens D23 commemorative fan poster.

On Thursday, September 3, the Disney Store on North Michigan Avenue in Chicago will play host to one of 14 live toy unboxing events happening around the world to reveal new toys. Starting at 8:30 a.m. CT, HobbyKidsTV, a family-friendly YouTube channel part of the Maker Studios network, will be broadcasting live from inside the Store, unveiling new products from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, available exclusively at Disney Store and DisneyStore.com.

In ALL Disney Store locations throughout North America, doors will open for business on Force Friday with Star Wars-themed opening ceremonies, offering a galactic twist on the traditional “Unlocking Imagination” ritual. Other activities taking place at Disney Store locations (excluding Disney Store Outlets) on Force Friday include:

  • A free commemorative Star Wars: The Force Awakens pin for the first 100 guests who make a purchase on Force Friday
  • Numerous Star Wars events taking place, including:
    • R2-D2 craft activity
    • Ways of the Force
    • Star Wars Story Time
    • Art of Drawing: R2-D2
    • Free Topps vintage trading card giveaway upon completion of an in-store event and while supplies last
  • Epic Star Wars theming that pays homage to both the dark side and the light

On DisneyStore.com, fans can enjoy special Limited Edition product, as well as free shipping on all Star Wars items from September 4 – 6.

Additional details about Disney Store’s activities surrounding Force Friday are available at www.DisneyStore.com/ForceFriday!

Disney Parks: At the World of Disney store in Disneyland Resort’s Downtown Disney District and Once Upon a Toy in Walt Disney World Resort’s Downtown Disney Marketplace, fans can join a event starting at midnight! Attendees will have first access to Star Wars: The Force Awakens products and parks-exclusive merchandise, including a Force Friday logo messenger bag.

force-friday-messenger-bag

Target: A total of 207 Target stores will open at midnight on September 4, with all the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens items available and more. Visit Target.com/starwars to locate a store near you. But that’s not all.

In honor of Force Friday, Target has also launched Share the Force: an interactive experience that allows you to join fans around the world and share your Star Wars memories. Visit sharetheforce.target.com to add your memories today, and stop by select Target shops for Share the Force Saturday on September 5. There will be photo ops, giveaways, and much more!

Toys”R”Us: Toys”R”Us stores and ToysRUs.com have launched “Destination: Star Wars — a huge celebration and source for all things Star Wars on Force Friday! All Toys”R”Us stores will open at midnight, with special giveaways including a limited edition LEGO Star Wars Commemorative Brick and an exclusive Star Wars poster, while supplies last.

At Toys”R”Us Times Square in New York City, fans can join a Star Wars party that will rival any Ewok bash. Festivities begin on Thursday, September 3, when the store hosts Star Wars activities throughout the day, beginning at 9 a.m., including:

  • A book signing and meet and greet with Steve Sansweet, chief executive officer and president of Rancho Obi-Wan, Inc., storied Star Wars author and former head of Fan Relations and director of content management at Lucasfilm Ltd.
  • An art class and meet and greet with fan-favorite Star Wars and science fiction artist, Jeff Carlisle
  • Star Wars product demonstrations and activations throughout the store, including Star Wars-themed 3D action figure creation with 3D Plus Me, video gaming on Disney Infinity 3.0 Star Wars kiosks and experiencing intergalactic sound on Star Wars-themed headphones powered by SMS Audio
  • A LEGO Star Wars make and take for rebels looking to build their toy empire brick by brick
  • A Lightsaber Academy with members of New York Jedi, a community of cosplayers, martial artists, and teachers who share practical stage combat techniques oriented toward lightsabers
  • Photo opportunities with costumed characters, including Furbacca, a character versioned after the Hasbro toy that makes Wookiee sounds like Chewbacca
  • Ice cream flavors inspired by the Star Wars saga from Scoops“R”Us, the flagship store’s in-house ice cream shop located on the Lower Level
  • Star Wars-themed cookie decorating at a “Wookiee” Cookie Party on Level 1
  • Special giveaways for the first fans in line, including a Collector’s Edition LEGO Star Wars Commemorative Brick, an exclusive, limited edition Star Wars poster, and a Star Wars Character Flashlight from JAKKS Pacific
  • Star Wars trivia, a costume contest, and a galaxy of excitement and prizes, while supplies last
  • A panel discussion with Steve Sansweet and Jeff Carlisle for select lucky fans, which will also be livestreamed via Periscope @Toysrus on Twitter
  • The ultimate unveiling of the official Toys“R”Us Times Square Star Wars feature shop at 12:01 a.m. on Force Friday, September 4

Walmart: Participating Walmart stores will also be opening their doors at midnight on September 4. New products from Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be available, along with some bargains that even Jabba would love:

  • Walmart will be the only place to find Topps’ Galactic Connexions, a trading disc game featuring the Star Wars characters
  • Customers that visit Walmart stores on September 4 will receive a free two-pack of Galactic Connexions discs, including a rare blue star field disc that will only be available in packs given away on Force Friday
  • Available exclusively at Walmart: Disney Infinity 3.0 Star Wars Kanan Jarrus Figure
  • Customers that preorder Star Wars Battlefront in Walmart stores will receive a $5 credit to use on Vudu

To find Force Friday events happening in your neighborhood, visit walmart.com/starwars!