New “Batman” Movie Sold 15 Tickets per Second during Peak Periods
It’s an historic weekend all around, with 64% of THE DARK KNIGHT moviegoers on Fandango saying that they plan to see the film again.
LOS ANGELES (RUSHPRNEWS) July 21, 2008 – Fandango’s previous records for daily, hourly and weekend ticket sales were beaten to a pulp by The Dark Knight this weekend. As mobs of fans scooped up advance tickets at a breakneck pace, Fandango sold 13% of the film’s projected domestic weekend box office.*
The latest ticketing data for The Dark Knight on Fandango includes:
• DAILY/HOURLY/WEEKEND TOP TICKET-SELLER: The Dark Knight broke Fandango’s daily and hourly ticket sales records on Friday, July 18. The previous record-holder in both categories was 2007’s Spider-Man 3. Knight broke Fandango’s 3-day weekend record on Sunday.
• FASTEST-SELLER: The new Batman movie was selling as fast as 15 tickets per second during extended periods on Friday. The previous record was held by Spider-Man 3, which sold as many as 10 tickets per second on Friday, May 4, 2007.
• SIGNIFICANT PERCENTAGE OF TICKETS SOLD ONLINE: The Dark Knight accounted for one of Fandango’s largest percentages (13%) of tickets sold for a feature film’s opening weekend. (By comparison, Fandango sold 16% of Sex and the City, nearly 12% of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and 10.5 % of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith domestic opening weekends.)
• THE HEATH LEDGER FACTOR: The late Heath Ledger’s Oscar-worthy performance as The Joker carved out a huge piece of The Dark Knight’s audience: 53% of moviegoers said that the late Heath Ledger’s performance was the single most important factor that initially prompted them to buy a ticket, according to a Fandango poll in early July.
• REPEAT BUSINESS: In a Fandango.com poll over the weekend, 64% of Dark Knight moviegoers said they plan to see the movie again. Sixty-two percent of respondents say that Ledger’s performance is the factor that makes them want to see it a second time.
“It’s clear that people are looking for an escape to the movies these days” says Rick Butler, Chief Operating Officer of Fandango, “and The Dark Knight delivered. Advance ticket sales were extraordinary this weekend. Our Web site saw an unprecedented number of moviegoers searching for theaters and showtimes while viewing film trailers and photos, and we’re pleased to report we met the demand. As an indicator of the rise of online ticketing, we sold more tickets during The Dark Knight’s opening two days than we did for all films in the first 12 months of our company’s history.”
About Fandango
One of the Web’s top movie and entertainment destinations, Fandango sells tickets to more than 15,000 screens. Fandango entertains and informs consumers with reviews, commentary and trailers, and offers the ability to quickly select a film, plan where and when to see it, and conveniently buy tickets in advance. Fandango is available at www.fandango.com, 1-800-FANDANGO and via your wireless mobile device at mobile.fandango.com. Fandango is a unit of Comcast Interactive Media.
* Based on the film’s estimated domestic weekend box office of $153.6 million projected by ReelSource.
Harry Medved/Fandango (Office: 310-954-0461/Cell: 310-200-1201).
