"Star Trek into Darkness" Beams Up Fandango's Fanticipation Buzz Indicator as the #1 Most Anticipated Movie This Weekend

LOS ANGELES, May 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Fandango, the nation's leading moviegoer destination, reported today that J.J. Abrams' highly anticipated "Star Trek Into Darkness" garnered a 96 out of 100 score on the company's Fanticipation movie buzz indicator that measures fan sentiment around the weekend box office line-up.  The sci-fi thriller outshone "Iron Man 3" and "The Great Gatsby," which are still top-of-mind with moviegoers, scoring 85 and 83, respectively.  Fanticipation scores are calculated based a proprietary analysis of Fandango's advance ticket sales, website and mobile traffic, and social media engagement. 

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Flying at maximum warp speed, "Star Trek" also represents 80% of today's ticket sales on Fandango, selling out hundreds of show times across the country, from New York to San Francisco, and Atlanta to Austin.

More than 1,000 "Star Trek" ticket-buyers participated in a survey on Fandango and excitement for the film and the franchise is running high: 

• 89% said they had seen the previous J.J. Abrams "Star Trek" on the big screen;
• 76% have avoided reading any online spoilers, saying they want to be completely surprised;
• 71% said that co-star Benedict Cumberbatch, star of TV's "Sherlock," increased their interest in seeing the movie;
• 62% will attend the movie with a group of fellow "Star Trek" fans;
• 56% said the secrecy surrounding the film made them even more excited to see the film;
• 55% already plan to see the movie more than once;
• 15% will be dressed in "Star Trek" attire at the theater. 

On this week's episode of "Weekend Ticket," Fandango's weekly digital video series, Fandango Chief Correspondent and Host Dave Karger interviews the film's stars Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto and challenges them to a "Star Trek" trivia face-off. Fans can see which of the two leading men is the master at "Trek" trivia at fandango.com/weekendticket.

About Fandango
Fandango, the nation's leading moviegoer destination and an NBCUniversal company, sells tickets to more than 21,000 screens nationwide. Fandango entertains and informs consumers with reviews, commentary, celebrity interviews and trailers, and offers the ability to quickly select a film, plan where and when to see it, and conveniently buy tickets in advance. For many theaters, fans can print their tickets at home or receive them as a paperless Mobile Ticket on their smartphones. Fandango's top-ranking movie ticketing apps, with 33 million downloads, are available on the iPhone and iPad, Android, and many other platforms. Fandango is enjoyed by more than 41 million online and mobile visitors per month. Film fans find Fandango on Facebook at www.facebook.com/fandango and on Twitter @Fandango.

SOURCE Fandango