• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Current price of oil as of June 15, 2026

2

Current price of silver as of Monday, June 15, 2026

3

Hundreds of Stanford students walked out of their grad ceremony to protest Google CEO’s commencement speech. It wasn’t all about AI

1

Current price of oil as of June 15, 2026

2

Current price of silver as of Monday, June 15, 2026

3

Hundreds of Stanford students walked out of their grad ceremony to protest Google CEO’s commencement speech. It wasn’t all about AI
Arts & Entertainmentpubdesk

The ‘Stars Wars’ Debut Made People Get Off the Internet

By
Claire Groden
Claire Groden
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Claire Groden
Claire Groden
Down Arrow Button Icon
December 22, 2015, 8:54 AM ET
Fans Line Up To Watch "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" In New York City
NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 17: Fans line up to watch "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" outside of AMC Loews Kips Bay 15 on December 17, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images)Photograph by Noam Galai—Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

There’s a new way to peel the world away from the Internet: Star Wars.

At the time of the first IMAX showing of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in countries including the United States and Russia, Internet traffic dropped significantly. In Germany, that traffic drop was the highest, at 11.7%, according to data from cybersecurity firm Imperva Incapsula’s blog.

“As the movie started rolling out in theaters around the world, we saw a noticeable decline in activity on our network,” Igal Zeifman wrote in a post. “This was the result of a huge number of fans sinking into their movie theater seats to enjoy the latest from the galaxy far, far away.”

Star Wars enjoyed the largest opening weekend in North America, raking in $238 million in ticket sales—and $517 worldwide. The previous North American record-holder, Jurassic World, earned $208.8 million in its opening weekend this past summer.

In the United States, on Friday at midnight, internet traffic measured by Imperva dropped by 4.09% compared to the average traffic in the previous two weeks at the same time of day. Even in the twenty-four hours later, traffic was down by 5.15% on Imperva’s measured websites, perhaps due to fans’ avoidance of spoilers.

“We want to salute the brave /r/StarWars/ moderators who continue to throw themselves into the fray of new comments and suspect discussions, deleting potential spoilers at the risk of exposing themselves to information that may ruin their own movie-going experience,” Zeifman wrote, referring to the Reddit subgroup where users post about the franchise. “Such selfless acts are the embodiment of the Jedi Code’s decree: ‘Ignorance, yet knowledge.’”

About the Author
By Claire Groden
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Arts & Entertainment

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Arts & Entertainment

tt
RetailRetail
Target turnaround adds Isaac Mizrahi as creative director at large
By Anne D'Innocenzio and The Associated PressJune 16, 2026
2 hours ago
More than manufacturing: Vietnam has hopes to become Asia’s next cultural powerhouse
MagazineMedia
More than manufacturing: Vietnam has hopes to become Asia’s next cultural powerhouse
By Lee WilliamsonJune 16, 2026
5 hours ago
bb
Arts & EntertainmentSports
Basketball vs. the Beautiful Game: the fight for America’s summer sports attention
By Nick LichtenbergJune 15, 2026
18 hours ago
‘We’ll never do this again’: UFC CEO Dana White says White House fight night was too expensive to do it again
North AmericaDonald Trump
‘We’ll never do this again’: UFC CEO Dana White says White House fight night was too expensive to do it again
By The Associated Press and Dan GelstonJune 15, 2026
20 hours ago
Ricardo Pepi
SuccessCareers
Team USA star Ricardo Pepi grew up in a trailer in El Paso—and his parents pawned their car title to fuel his soccer dream. Now, he’s in the World Cup
By Preston ForeJune 15, 2026
23 hours ago
NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson
SuccessCareers
Jalen Brunson just led the Knicks to an NBA title—and credits his famous dad’s work ethic for preparing him for the job
By Emma BurleighJune 15, 2026
24 hours ago

Most Popular

Current price of oil as of June 15, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 15, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 15, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of silver as of Monday, June 15, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Monday, June 15, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 15, 2026
1 day ago
Hundreds of Stanford students walked out of their grad ceremony to protest Google CEO’s commencement speech. It wasn’t all about AI
Big Tech
Hundreds of Stanford students walked out of their grad ceremony to protest Google CEO’s commencement speech. It wasn’t all about AI
By Tristan BoveJune 15, 2026
22 hours ago
Team USA star Ricardo Pepi grew up in a trailer in El Paso—and his parents pawned their car title to fuel his soccer dream. Now, he’s in the World Cup
Success
Team USA star Ricardo Pepi grew up in a trailer in El Paso—and his parents pawned their car title to fuel his soccer dream. Now, he’s in the World Cup
By Preston ForeJune 15, 2026
23 hours ago
Meet Gwynne Shotwell, the engineer-turned-COO who runs SpaceX in platform heels and is now worth over $2 billion
Startups & Venture
Meet Gwynne Shotwell, the engineer-turned-COO who runs SpaceX in platform heels and is now worth over $2 billion
By Eva RoytburgJune 15, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of gold as of June 15, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of June 15, 2026
By Danny BakstJune 15, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.