Revenge Is Sweet: Final Star Wars Movie Breaks Fandango Records

Revenge Is Sweet: Final Star Wars Movie Breaks Fandango Records

Leading Movie Ticketing Service Sells 10.5 Percent of the Nation's Opening Weekend Box Office for STAR WARS: EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH

LOS ANGELES, May 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Fandango, the nation's largest online and phone movie ticketing service with exclusive access to nearly 70 percent of the nation's wired theaters, announced today that it sold an estimated $16.5 million of the projected four-day $158.5 million* domestic opening weekend box office for REVENGE OF THE SITH, or approximately 10.5 percent of Sith ticket sales. Fandango officially began selling tickets to Sith on April 14, nearly five weeks before its May 19 opening date.

By comparison, Fandango sold 8 percent of the domestic opening weekend box office for the blockbusters Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in June 2004 and THE Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in December 2003.

A few more facts from Fandango:

-- Revenge of the Sith now stands as Fandango's top-selling movie for
opening weekend sales, followed by THE Return of the King.

-- On Friday, May 20, SITH broke Fandango's record for hourly sales,
selling an average of eight tickets per second (during peak periods,
Fandango sold as many as 35 SITH tickets per second).

-- Thursday-Friday, May 19-20, Sith's first two days of release, were
Fandango's top-selling 48 hours in the company's history.

-- SITH represents 98 percent of the company's weekly ticket sales.

"Even as of Sunday, we're selling tickets like gangbusters," says Fandango President and CEO Art Levitt. "Our ticket sales are a clear indicator that Sith has kicked off the summer movie season loud and clear. As the nation's single largest sales outlet for the theatrical distribution of movies, we are pleased that millions of moviegoers are taking advantage of the ease of Fandango to avoid the long lines and guarantee a hassle-free movie going experience."

* Box office information from Box Office Mojo and Box Office Guru.

About Fandango

Fandango, the nation's largest online and phone movie ticketing service, sells tickets to approximately 1,100 theaters and 12,500 screens (nearly 70 percent of theaters in the U.S. enabled for remote ticketing) and to four out of the five largest U.S. theater chains. Fandango's convenient service lets moviegoers quickly select a film, plan where and when to see it, and buy tickets in advance on http://www.fandango.com/ and at 1-800-FANDANGO. Fandango sells tickets to more theaters than all of its competitors combined and is the exclusive ticketing service for the largest North American exhibitors: Carmike Theatres, Century Theatres, Edwards Theatres, Loews Cineplex Entertainment, Regal Cinemas, and United Artists Theatres, as well as to Brenden Theatres, CineArts, Cineplex Odeon Cinemas, Cobb Theatres, Crown Theatres, Eastern Federal Theatres, Kerasotes Theatres, Magic Johnson, Majestic Crest Theatre, R/C Theatres, Signature Theatres, Star Theatres and Wallace Theaters. Fandango allows customers to bypass the box office with in-theater ticket pick-up kiosks and Print at Home ticketing, and offers the "gift of the movies," Fandango Bucks, and an e-mail invitation tool, Evite Friends.

Source: Fandango

CONTACT: Harry Medved, Fandango, Inc., +1-310-451-7690 x112,
harry.medved@fandango.com

Web site: http://www.fandango.com/

-------
Profile: intent