Many airlines have already done away with paper tickets and now one of the largest sellers of movie tickets is finally making the digital leap. After almost two years of development and smaller test runs, Fandango‘s Mobile Ticket initiative begins its major roll out this weekend at select Regal Cinemas with the release of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1. People who buy tickets online (not just for Twilight, for any movie) can have a message sent to their phone with a barcode that theaters scan, allowing people to skip lines at ticket booths and kiosks. Find out which theaters are first adopting this after the jump. Read More »
Often considered one of, if not the, best movie theater chains in the United States, the Alamo Drafthouse has just signed a deal to keep their empire expanding. They’ve partnered with the number one online ticket seller, Fandango, to sell tickets for all of their screenings both online and through mobile devices. The theater will also continue their current method of online sales, through their own site. In the press release for the announcement, which you can read in full below the jump, Alamo CEO Tim League (who was recently on the /Filmcast) mentioned that plans to expand to Los Angeles, New York and “other markets across the country” are still continuing. Read More »
TechCrunch is reporting that Fandango has begun pushing out a mobile ticket program that will bring movie tickets to your cellphone. Instead of printing out a paper ticket after buying a ticket online, you’ll receive a 2D barcode via a text message, which the ticket-taker will be able to scan. Since the movie theater employees will need special scanners to read the barcodes (pretty much the same scanners you find at Target or Walmart), it will take some time to roll out the service. Movietickets.com is apparently testing out a similar service as well.
Theaters participating in the new Fandango service include City Cinemas 1, 2 & 3, Angelika Film Center, East 86th Street Cinemas, Village East Cinema, Beekman Theatre, and The Paris Theatre, all of which are in New York. Find the full list of theaters over at TechCrunch.
