Fandango, Fox and Rovio Team Up to Provide Ticketing for the Hit Animated Film RIO via the Popular Angry Birds RIO Game

LOS ANGELES, April 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Fandango, the nation's leading moviegoer destination and top mobile movie ticketing provider, is teaming up with top game app publisher Rovio and Twentieth Century Fox to provide U.S. show time info and ticketing capabilities for Fox's hit motion picture RIO from within the popular game, Angry Birds RIO.  

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RIO, already the world's top-grossing film of the week with an international box office take of approximately $55 million, opens in the U.S. tomorrow on Friday, April 15.  

Starting today, Angry Birds apps for smartphones and tablets will link to Fandango's optimized mobile site, where fans can buy tickets for the movie, RIO, currently one of Fandango's top daily ticket-sellers.

Angry Birds RIO combines appearances from the Angry Birds with RIO's fine-feathered animated stars, and has ranked as the season's most downloaded app on iOs, Mac and Android.

The avidly-played aviary app, which has seen more than 10 million downloads in its first 10 days of release, was developed by Rovio in conjunction with Twentieth Century Fox.

"There's always been a huge crossover between film fans and the gamer audience," says Rick Butler, Chief Operating Officer and General Manager of Fandango. "We're thrilled to work with Fox and Rovio to exclusively provide another convenient way for fans to get tickets to one of the season's most highly-anticipated movies."

"As we gear up for the U.S. theatrical release of RIO this Friday, we're excited to work with Fandango and Rovio to give fans an easy and fun way to purchase tickets to this incredible film," says Peter Levinsohn, President of New Media and Digital Distribution for Fox Filmed Entertainment.

"We are pleased by the runaway success of Angry Birds RIO, as we continue to increase our footprint in Hollywood," says Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio. "We're happy to work with Fox and Fandango to make it easy for the fans to be able to see the excitement of the movie RIO up on the big screen."

Moviegoers purchasing a RIO movie ticket on Fandango via the Angry Birds RIO app will be entered into a sweepstakes, launching today and offering the chance to win one of five iPad 2s.

About RIO

From the makers of the hit ICE AGE series, RIO is a comedy-adventure about taking a walk on the wild side.  Blu is a domesticated Macaw who never learned to fly, living a comfortable life with his owner and best friend Linda in the small town of Moose Lake, Minnesota.  Blu and Linda think he's the last of his kind, but when they learn about another Macaw who lives in Rio de Janeiro, they head to the faraway and exotic land to find Jewel, Blu's female counterpart.  Not long after they arrive, Blu and Jewel are kidnapped by a group of bungling animal smugglers.  With the help of street smart Jewel, and a group of wise-cracking and smooth-talking city birds, Blu escapes.  Now, with his new friends by his side, Blu will have to find the courage to learn to fly, thwart the kidnappers who are hot on their trail, and return to Linda, the best friend a bird ever had.

About Rovio Mobile

Rovio is an award-winning Finnish game developer, and one of the leading independent developers of mobile games worldwide. Since 2003, Rovio has produced over 50 titles for multiple different mobile platforms. To visit Rovio, go to rovio.com.

About Fandango

Fandango, the nation's leading moviegoer destination, sells tickets to more than 16,000 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, via your wireless mobile device at mobile.fandango.com, and at 1-800-FANDANGO. Fandango's top-ranking movie ticketing apps, with 15 million downloads, are available on the iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry, Palm, Windows Phone 7 and many other platforms.

SOURCE Fandango