Star Wars: The Force Awakens DVD leaks online two weeks early

A reported 250,000 people downloaded the film in just 12 hours

Considering Star Wars: The Force Awakens had one of the biggest cinema releases of all time, perhaps it was inevitable that Episode VII of the sci-fi saga would fall victim to online piracy. Frustratingly - weeks ahead of its DVD and Blu-ray release - the JJ Abrams blockbuster has found its way online.

TorrentFreak reports that over 250,000 people had downloaded the film after the first 12 hours alone - a figure expected to reach the million mark over the course of the next week.

Having made over two billion at the global box office, it's hard to imagine that many of the people browsing these torrent sites are yet to see the film, meaning they're probably just rewatching it at the earliest possible convenience.

Unfortunately, there is still a few weeks to go before the film's home entertainment release arrives with the UK date set for 18 April (US fans get it on 5 April).

The Blu-ray is set to feature a making-of documentary as well as behind-the-scenes footage and exclusive deleted scenes - one of which was teased in the DVD trailer which shows Adam Driver's masked villain Kylo Ren entering the legendary Millenium Falcon.

The Force Awakens will be available on Digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere the previous week on April 11.