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Fandango is one of two major online advance movie ticket sale sites. Fandango is now a publically held corporation, since being acquired by Comcast, with the initial major stakeholder being the largest theater chain in the U.S., [[Regal Entertainment Group]], including [[Regal_Entertainment_Group#United_Artists_Theatres|United Artists]] and [[Hoyts]] theater chains. The other, [[MovieTickets.com]] is privately owned. The timing and the events surrounding the formation of Fandango suggest a motivation on the part of Regal to prevent monopoly power in this application from falling into the hands of MovieTickets.com. |
Fandango is one of two major online advance movie ticket sale sites. Fandango is now a publically held corporation, since being acquired by Comcast, with the initial major stakeholder being the largest theater chain in the U.S., [[Regal Entertainment Group]], including [[Regal_Entertainment_Group#United_Artists_Theatres|United Artists]] and [[Hoyts]] theater chains. The other, [[MovieTickets.com]] is privately owned. The timing and the events surrounding the formation of Fandango suggest a motivation on the part of Regal to prevent monopoly power in this application from falling into the hands of MovieTickets.com. |
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Although Fandango does not provide online ticketing for many [[AMC Theaters]], it ''only'' |
Although Fandango does not provide online ticketing for many [[AMC Theaters]], it ''only'' provides online ticketing for those [[AMC Theaters]] originally part of the [[Loews Cineplex Entertainment]] chain, due to contractual obligations in place prior to the 2005 merger of the two movie chains.<ref>[http://media.seekingalpha.com/article/334 "AMC-Loews merger could shake up online movie ticketers Fandango and MovieTickets.com" from ''Media Stocks'' at '''SeekingAlpha.com''']</ref> Loews had previously attempted to break the contract in 2002 under pressure of bankruptcy and from (then) [[AOL]] Moviefone; Fandango successfully sued both Loews and Moviefone and retains Loews business.<ref>[http://siliconvalley.internet.com/news/article.php/1438501 "Fandango Heads Off an End Run" from ''Silicon Valley'' at '''Internet.com''']</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
Revision as of 15:10, 4 September 2007
Fandango is a corporation in the United States that sells film tickets over the telephone and Internet, allowing customers to make sure they have tickets and avoid lines at the movie theater. They are notable for their advertisements, which play before previews in most major movie-theater chains. The ads feature puppets made out of lunch bags, and are widely recognizable to most moviegoers.
Fandango often requires a premium ranging from 75¢ to $1.50 for using its services (with an additional surcharge for phone orders), which consist of reserving a ticket to be printed out upon arrival at a movie theater, thereby avoiding a line. Earlier advertisements also promised seating for sold out shows, but this was later dropped, as not all theaters are equipped with sufficient staff to handle reserved seating and will call lines. On top of ticket prices (that in many areas eclipse $10.00), this can make movie-going an expensive proposition; still, it is difficult many times to procure tickets to movies on their opening days without using services like Fandango, arguably turning an extravagance into more of a necessity in those circumstances.
The movie holding the record for most advance tickets sold on Fandango is Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006).[citation needed]
While revenue in this industry was rapidly increasing several years after the companies formation, small and medium sized chains were increasingly adding independent ticket sale capabilities through their own websites. In addition, a new paradigm involving moviegoers printing their tickets at home was emerging as embodied in services offered by printtixusa.com and ticketmakers.com.
Commercials for this company are played in such theaters as the Carmike Cinemas, more in the past than now. These commercials featured various brown paper bag puppets, repeating the name of the company during various one- or two-liner jokes.
On April 11, 2007 it was announced that the site would be acquired by Comcast. Fandango will be placed aside a new entertainment site called Fancast.com set to launch the summer of 2007.
Competition with MovieTickets.com
Fandango is one of two major online advance movie ticket sale sites. Fandango is now a publically held corporation, since being acquired by Comcast, with the initial major stakeholder being the largest theater chain in the U.S., Regal Entertainment Group, including United Artists and Hoyts theater chains. The other, MovieTickets.com is privately owned. The timing and the events surrounding the formation of Fandango suggest a motivation on the part of Regal to prevent monopoly power in this application from falling into the hands of MovieTickets.com.
Although Fandango does not provide online ticketing for many AMC Theaters, it only provides online ticketing for those AMC Theaters originally part of the Loews Cineplex Entertainment chain, due to contractual obligations in place prior to the 2005 merger of the two movie chains.[1] Loews had previously attempted to break the contract in 2002 under pressure of bankruptcy and from (then) AOL Moviefone; Fandango successfully sued both Loews and Moviefone and retains Loews business.[2]