STAR Wars fans are having a happy Christmas with the release of the latest film in the sci-fi franchise – The Last Jedi.
New research has revealed the typical Star Wars fan in the UK has seen as many as 3,828 minutes of the film series and agree Han Solo is the winning favourite character.
Cinema chain Vue polled 2,000 Star Wars fanatics to reveal the average time spent watching every one of the Star Wars films totalled at 63 hours and 48 minutes – the equivalent of two days 15 hours and 48 minutes – with the most watched film being Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back.
And a quarter of those surveyed in the West Midlands said the Star Wars series were their favourite all time movies.
Taking the top spot for favourite character in the West Midlands was Chewbacca, followed by Han Solo, while R2-D2 came in third place.
And one in seven agreed Jar Jar Binks was the most annoying character in the series.
The iconic moment where Darth Vader reveals he was Luke Skywalker’s father was hailed as the best movie moment, followed by the Death Star attack in A New Hope.
R2-D2, unsurprisingly, grabbed the spot for top bot, while the Millennium Falcon was voted the best starship, with the X-Wing Starfighter and Super Star Destroyer taking a back seat for second and third place.
Fans’ most popular episode of all-time was revealed to be episode V, narrowly followed by VI and IV.
Nearly half of film buffs have had a movie ‘binge’, with the average Star Wars splurge lasting three films at a typical running time of seven to eight hours.
Around one in ten had even watched the films in chronological order all in one sitting, as opposed to the order they were released, while just under half agreed it was the best order to enjoy the films.
A third also admitted they had tried to get their kids into the film series, with the majority seeing their first film between the ages of seven and 12.
Despite the Star Wars series being undisputedly timeless, fans admitted the cult classic movies they had not seen included The Breakfast Club and Donnie Darko which appeared in the top 20 unwatched flicks.
Jai Bhatia, area manager for Vue Central, said: “Star Wars continues to be a sell-out success as we prepare to welcome hordes of fans through our doors over the coming weeks.
“Our research revealed that Star Wars is the favourite film of over a third of the public and we’re thrilled to help fans from all generations enjoy the latest instalment.”
