'Dark Knight' Continues to Sell Out; Outpaces Highest-Earning Blockbusters

Four days prior to its release, MovieTickets.com already has over 450 performances of 'Dark Knight' sold out in North America

LOS ANGELES, July 14 -- MovieTickets.com is reporting that the highly anticipated film "The Dark Knight" is currently outselling three of MovieTickets.com's Top-10 Performing Films of All-Time at the same point in the sales cycle, including installments from such coveted franchises as "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Spider-Man" and "The Lord of the Rings."

To date, "Dark Knight" has sold more than three times as many advance tickets as "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," more than twice as many as "Spider-Man 3" and almost twice as many as "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" at the same point in the sales cycle for each film.

MovieTickets.com's Top-10 Performing Films of All-Time

1. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
2. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
3. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
4. The Passion of The Christ
5. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
6. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
7. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
8. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
9. Matrix Reloaded
10. Spider-Man 3

According to MovieTickets.com, "Dark Knight" has sold out over 150 performances in Los Angeles and New York alone. What's more, MovieTickets.com reports the caped crusader now boasts more than 1,300 midnight showings on its site.

In a recent MovieTickets.com survey, moviegoers aware of the movie expressed intent to see the film during its opening weekend in all four age groups polled:

-- 24 & Under - 98 percent
-- 25 to 34 - 92 percent
-- 35 to 44 - 78 percent
-- 45 to 59 - 66 percent

In addition, the survey found that 86 percent of males and 76 percent of females polled said they intend to see "Dark Knight" during its opening weekend.

For more information or to speak with a MovieTickets.com
representative, contact Formula at (310) 578-7050 or via e-mail at marek@formulapr.com.

MovieTickets.com exhibitors currently include: Academy 8 Theaters (P & G Theaters), Access Digital Theatres, Alco Theaters, All Star Entertainment, AMC Theatres, Amherst Cinema Art Center, Arena Grand Theatre (Columbus Hospitality), Ashbrie Cinemas, Atlantic Theaters (Movies at Midway), Atlas Cinemas, B&B Theaters, Bank Street Theatre, Back Seat Conceptions (941 Theater), Bowtie Cinemas, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Bryn Mawr Movie Theatre Co., Camera Cinemas, Celebrity Theatres, Channelside Cinemas, Cinema Centers, Cinema Four-Quad (Quad Cinema), Cinemagic Movies, Cinemagic Theatres (MN), Cinemall, Cineplex Odeon, Classic Cinemas, Clearview Cinemas, Cleveland Cinemas, Consolidated Theatres, Cornelius Cinemas, Dickinson Theatres, Dipson Theatres, Discovery Theater, Drexel Theatres, Eastern Shores (O'Neil Theaters NE), Emagine Entertainment (Cinema Hollywood), Entertainment Retail (Hollywood Hits), Elvis Cinemas, Eveningstar Cinema, Famous Players, Film Forum, Fine Arts Theatre - Beverly Hills, Fox Bay Cinema Grill, Foxmoor Movies, Frank Theaters, Funasia Theaters, Galaxy Cinemas (Canada), Galaxy Cinemas (GA), Galaxy Cinemas (NC), Greater Huntington Theatres, Greenville Cinemas (Camelot Cinemas), Hallett Cinemas, Harkins Theatres, Harrisonville Cinema, HLB Entertainment (Palace 9, Majestic 10), Hollywood Cinema 9, Hollywood Premier Cinemas, Howell Theater, IFC Center, Island Cinemas, Jarvis Conservatory, Kew Gardens (and Cobble Hill), K&G Theaters (Bloomfield 8), Krikorian Premiere Theatres, Landmark Theatres (and Ritz Theatres), M Park 4, Main Street Cinemas, Malco Theatres, Mann Theatres , Marcus Theatres, Marquee Cinemas, Metropolitan Theatres, Mission Grove Theaters, MJR Theatres, MnM Theatres, Moore Family Theaters, Movie Tavern, MovieMax Theatres, NAOS Entertainment, Narberth Theatre, National Amusements, Nelsonville Movies 10, North American Cinema, Oasis Cinema, Omniplex Theatre Group, O'Neil Theatres (Louisiana), Pacific Theatres, Paris Theater, Penn Cinema, Phoenix Theatres (MI), Phoenix Theatres (TN), Pickwick Theatres, Premiere Cinemas, Quarry Cinemas, Rail Road Square Cinema, Rave Motion Pictures, Regency 8 Cinema, Rio Entertainment, Riviera Cinemas, Roxy Theatres, Safari Cinema, Sayville Theatre, Scotiabank Theatres, Sea Turtle Cinemas, ShowBiz Cinemas, Showplace Cinemas, Showtime Cinema, Silver Screen Cinemas, Silver Screen Partners, Spotlight Theatres, Starplex Cinemas, Studio Movie Grill, Sunrise Cinemas, Syracuse Stadium 6,Tango Theaters, Tower Theaters, Trans-Lux Cinemas, United Entertainment Corp., UltraStar Cinemas, Village Theaters, Warren Theatres, Watson Theatre, Wellfleet Cinemas, and Westates Theatres.

About MovieTickets.com

MovieTickets.com), the world's most powerful Internet movie ticketing service, offers moviegoers a convenient way to buy movie tickets in advance. MovieTickets.com enables consumers to buy tickets online for movie screens across the United States, as well as in Canada at MovieTickets.ca; in the U.K. at MovieTickets.co.uk; in Ireland at MovieTickets.ie; from any Internet-enabled wireless device at mobile.movietickets.com; and from any phone at 877-789-MOVIE. Formed in 2000, MovieTickets.com is a joint venture between AMC Entertainment, Hollywood Media Corp. (NASDAQ: HOLL), National Amusements, Famous Players, Marcus Theatres (NYSE: MCS), Viacom (NYSE: VIA) and America Online, and leverages the collective theater chain expertise to deliver consumers a premium movie ticketing experience. Its elite collection of partner theaters consistently represents over 50 percent of the top 50 and over 50 percent of the top 100 grossing theaters in North America on any given weekend. The MovieTickets.com theater chain group, which includes 128 theater chains, is about five times the number of chains of its nearest competitor.

SOURCE MovieTickets.com