The eighth installment of the Star Wars franchise is now in theatres and fans in Calgary couldn't be happier at the news.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi, now playing at thousands of theatres all over the world, is the continuation of the story that The Force Awakens started back in 2015, introducing Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, Kylo Ren and BB-8 to the Star Wars universe while witnessing the return of a number of old favourites.

Luke Skywalker returns to the storyline in the new film and insiders say the story involves the hero and his sister Leia at the heart of an emotional adventure.

While lineups haven't been too bad at Calgary's Chinook Centre, that's mainly because a lot of people bought their tickets well in advance.

However, if you weren't able to get a ticket ahead of time, you might have a chance because the movie has 130 showtimes on Friday alone.

The first showing of the movie was actually at 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, but many die-hard fans turned up for the second screening at 2:00 a.m.

Hopes are high that the movie will be an instant blockbuster for Disney, with Boxoffice.com predicting the movie will gross anywhere from $185 to 215M in its first weekend; one of the biggest opening weekends in film history.

Fans who've seen the movie say The Last Jedi was everything they hoped for.

"We're shook to the core," said one fan. "I think it's the best Star Wars they've come out with."

For showtimes at a theatre near you, you can check Cineplex and Landmark Cinema's official websites.