'The Hunger Games' Pre-Sells More Than One Million Tickets
by Andy NeuenschwanderJust like the fictional televised death match that is the namesake of the book series and movie, "The Hunger Games" is quickly becoming something of a phenomenon. Fortunately, in the real-world case no teenagers have to die... unless there's some kind of stampede at the midnight showings.
Fandango announced today that "The Hunger Games" has passed one million tickets pre-sold online through their site, making it the highest non-sequel pre-seller for Fandango, ever. That means that more than 2,000 showtimes have sold out, and it's making those tracking the movie adjust their predictions.
It is now looking as though "The Hunger Games" will pass $100 million in its opening weekend with ease, and potentially push toward $125 million. If you're planning on going to the theater this weekend, you're going to wish you had brought a bow and arrow.
The two "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" movies and the three "Twilight" sequels released thus far hold the top five spots for advance ticket sales on Fandango. However, by Thursday night "Hunger Games" should at least take the fifth spot away from "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1" as the movie sold more than 80,000 tickets on Sunday alone.
As for the actual box office grosses this weekend, we'll have to see how many people brave the crowded theaters knowing how many tickets have already been sold. At this point, some of the less dedicated fans might decide to avoid the lines and wait a few days.