Distribution of films

The force awakens

On November 28, 2014, Lucasfilm released a 90-second teaser trailer to promote The Force Awakens. It was screened in selected cinemas across the United States and Canada and in theaters worldwide in December 2014. It was also released on YouTube and the iTunes Store, generating a record 58.2 million views on YouTube in its first week. Critics compared the brief footage favourably to the production values of the original trilogy.

 The Hollywood Reporter called the trailer "perfectly potent nostalgia", praising its mix of old and new.

Empire was impressed by the continuity with the first films – "the feel of classic Star Wars" – but noted the absence of Hamill, Ford, and Fisher and speculated about the significance of the new characters.The Guardian wrote that the use of the Star Wars fanfare by John Williams reinforced brand loyalty among fans.

Vanity Fair was the first magazine to release an exclusive cover issue devoted to The Force Awakens. The magazine, released on May 7, 2015, featured exclusive interviews and photos of the cast photographed by Annie Leibovitz.

 At the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con International, in addition to a panel with many of the actors, a behind-the-scenes look at the film demonstrated the film's use of practical sets and effects. It was positively received, with Nigel M. Smith of The Guardian writing: "The featurette's angle is a strong one and connects with fans of the original trilogy in an incredibly poignant way. It also does a sly job of teasing Fisher's new look as Leia and Simon Pegg's mysterious involvement as a rumored alien in the movie, without actually showing the actors in action." 

Smith compared the marketing strategy for the film to that of a previous Abrams film, Super 8, saying "the promos... are notable for what they tease, not what they give away."On December 11, 2014, Abrams and Kennedy released a series of eight mock Topps trading cards revealing the names of several characters. On April 16, 2015, a second teaser trailer, this one lasting two minutes, was shown at the opening panel at the Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, California. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said the reaction to the trailer was "staggering... the entire room of almost eight thousand people just leapt to their feet and roared, I mean I can't think of anything I've ever been to – other than a rock concert – that felt quite like that." The trailer was viewed over 88 million times within the first 24 hours of release, breaking the record.

According to the Guinness World Records, the second teaser trailer amassed 30.65 million in 24 hours, setting a new world record for the "most viewed movie trailer on YouTube in 24 hours."The event was broadcast live by Verizon on YouTube, StarWars.com and in movie theaters. The trailer shows many of the new characters and the first footage of Chewbacca and Han Solo. 

The Huffington Post's Graham Milne wrote that the trailer "was an affirmation of something that we'd long been told was never going to happen. This was a gift. This was faith rewarded. About damn time."

Walt Disney Studios and Lucasfilm presented a look at The Force Awakens at Disney's D23 Expo in August 2015. Drew Struzan—who designed the poster artwork for the previous Star Wars films—produced a commemorative poster given to the event's attendees. In October 2015, Lucasfilm unveiled the theatrical release poster and a third trailer. 

The poster omitted Luke Skywalker and revealed a Death Star-like "orb." The trailer debuted during the halftime break of Monday Night Football, before being released online. The reaction to the trailer by fans on social media was "frenzied", with Lizo Mzimba of the BBC writing that "perhaps the most significant thing about the final trailer before the film's release is how little of the story it reveals." Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph felt the trailer was "a perfect blend of old and new, in keeping with the old-fashioned Star Wars aesthetic." The trailer received 128 million views in 24 hours, a new record for the most views of a trailer in 24 hours. 

16 million of the views came from its airing on Monday Night Football. At the end of October, Air France announced a "Flight and Cinema" package, providing customers who book select flights to Paris transportation to a theatre to see the film, since France is one of the first countries to release the film On November 6, a Japanese trailer for the film was released. After seeing the new trailer Forbes' Ollie Barder stated the trailer gave him "hope" that the film would not "let us all down like the prequels did... [with] a worthwhile story this time." 

On November 23, a partnership with Google was announced, in which Google users could choose to affiliate themselves with either the Dark or Light Side, which would change the appearance of their Google websites. Additionally, Disney teamed up with Verizon to create a virtual-reality experience for Google Cardboard.

On December 17, 2015, select theaters across North America aired a Star Wars marathon, airing the six previous Star Wars episode films in 2D, followed by The Force Awakens in 3D. Attendees received a special lanyard featuring exclusive marathon art.

BBFC 12A rating for

VIOLENCE

There are frequent scenes of moderate violence, including use of blasters and lightsabers, and dogfights between spaceships. Sight of blood and injury detail is limited and brief.

THREAT

Occasional scenes of moderate threat include characters being interrogated using 'the Force', which it is implied causes them pain, and characters being held at lightsaber-point.

There is infrequent use of very mild bad language ('hell', 'damn').

The falling

BBFC 15 rating for

sex

The strongest sex scene features significant thrusting and partial buttock nudity, although there is no strong detail. In other scenes, sexual activity is mainly implied, with an emphasis on characters' faces, rather than on any mechanical detail. One scene is incestuous. A man is also seen with his hands down his trousers, implying masturbation, although once again there is no strong detail.

There are also strong verbal sex references to orgasms and virginity.