"THE HUNGER GAMES" IS FANDANGO'S TOP-SELLING FRANCHISE OPENER OF ALL TIME, WITH NEARLY 2,000 SHOWTIMES ALREADY SOLD OUT, BEFORE ITS DEBUT AT THE BOX OFFICE

LOS ANGELES, March 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- With a little more than two days left before its March 23 release date, "The Hunger Games" is already the top-selling franchise opener and non-sequel in Fandango's nearly 12-year history. This hotly-anticipated film is also on track to become one of Fandango's top-selling movies of all time.

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"Hunger" has already hit the following Fandango milestones:

• 92% of daily ticket sales;
• Nearly 2,000 showtimes sold-out in advance on Fandango;
• The top ticket-seller of the year to date;
• The top-selling March release in company history;
• More mobile ticket sales than any other film this year;
• More advance tickets sold on Fandango than the first "Twilight" movie during its entire advance ticketing run.

"'Hunger Games' continues to amaze us with its astonishing pace," says Fandango Executive Vice President and General Manager Rick Butler. "The extraordinarily strong advance ticket sales speak to the ease and convenience of Fandango, both on the Web and through our mobile apps, which guarantees fans seats for the films they want to see."

While thousands of "Hunger" showtimes are already sold out across the country, theater owners in all fifty states are posting additional showtimes to meet the growing fan demand. IMAX theaters represent Fandango's top-selling showtimes, with the movie playing in the IMAX format for one week only.

The new epic adventure is on track to soon land a coveted place on Fandango's top 5 advance ticket-sellers list, right behind some of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters of all time.

The current top 5 advance ticket-sellers on Fandango (as of Tuesday, March 20, 2012) are:

1. "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" (2009)
2. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" (2011)
3. "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1" (2011)
4. "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" (2010)
5. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" (2010)

Fandango is currently featuring a wealth of editorial content on "The Hunger Games," from exclusive video interviews with the stars, exclusive premiere videos and photos, prize pack giveaways, and commentary by Fandango Film Mom Tara McNamara. To check out Fandango's robust "Hunger Games" content, see http://www.fandango.com/thehungergames/movieguide.

The year 2012 has already been a momentous one for Fandango, which has reported record-breaking January and February sales, and is on track for a record-breaking March as well. Yesterday, Fandango announced a new deal with Yahoo!, enabling Yahoo! Movies fans to get Fandango showtimes and tickets on Yahoo! sites and across mobile devices and on tablets. The Yahoo! deal follows on the heels of new ticketing agreements with Regency Theatres and with AMC Theatres, which added a combined 3,200 screens to Fandango's extensive network of movie theaters across the country, now numbering a total of nearly 20,000 screens.

About Fandango

Fandango, the nation's leading moviegoer destination, sells tickets to nearly 20,000 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. At many theaters, fans can print their tickets at home or receive them as a paperless Mobile Ticket on their smartphones.

Fandango is available online at www.fandango.com, via smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices, and at 1-800-FANDANGO. Fandango is enjoyed by more than 30 million online and mobile visitors per month. Fandango's top-ranking movie ticketing apps, with over 22 million downloads, are available on the iPhone and iPad, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone 7 and many other platforms. Film fans find Fandango on Facebook at www.facebook.com/fandango and on Twitter @Fandango. 

SOURCE Fandango