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Wednesday
17Jun2009

Huge 'Transformers' Ticket Sales at Fandango

DateWednesday, June 17, 2009 at 9:46PM
It's not really surprising that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a hot ticket; you'd have to be pretty naive to think it wouldn't give us the top opening weekend of the year, and it might be the year's biggest hit all the way around. But you might be interested in just how impressive the pre-sale numbers are.

As reported at Worst Previews, the Transformers sequel currently comprises 45% of all ticket sales at Fandango.com. Based on sales in the same time frame, a week before each movie's release, Revenge of the Fallen is selling more than the first Transformers and this summer's Star Trek. Again, that's not terribly surprising, although the fact that nearly one in every two tickets being sold on a major website like Fandango is probably auspicious.

"For nearly two years - since the last Transformers opened - this new movie has been one of the most highly-anticipated films among fans on our site," said Rick Butler, Chief Operating Officer of Fandango. "Tickets for the new Transformers are already selling fast, so moviegoers should plan on buying their tickets in advance, as many showtimes are certain to sell out next week."

The question is how big will the weekend be? Huge, yes, but can it crack the all-time top five? Current tracking indicates that Transformers might make $160 million, but tracking can be wildly inaccurate - 10, 20, even 30% off. We're not dealing with a normal weekend but a five-day Wednesday-Sunday frame. The top earner over five days is obviously The Dark Knight, with over $200 million. To hit the top five, Revenge of the Fallen would have to hit $153 million.

It won't be easy, but it's the only movie this year that has a shot, and likely the only film with domestic box office aspirations over $300 million in 2009. The film is positioned perfectly, of course, by essentially inheriting an extra opening day on Wednesday, plus another bonus day on Sunday. I think we're definitely looking at $200 million by the end of its second weekend, and I expect that Fandango number to rise in the next few days.

AuthorColin Boyd | | in , | Print ArticlePrint Article | | CommentPost a Comment |

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