Waiting in line this weekend to get tickets for “Star Wars: Episode II– Attack of the Clones”?
That’s so late-20th Century.
More than ever, moviegoers are relying on the Internet to buy tickets in advance. For them, the service charge (75 cents to $1 a ticket) is worth it, because they avoid lines and are guaranteed seats at the showtime they want (if that showtime is available). That’s important now that the season’s blockbusters are here.
For those moviegoers who are intrigued about on-line ticket purchases but mystified about the process, here’s how it works: Go online and enter the city or ZIP code where you’ll watch the movie. Choose your cinema, showtimes and the number of tickets you want. Enter your credit card information (which is encrypted to deter thieves) and you get a confirmation number. It sounds time-consuming, but if you’re among the growing number of people with a fast (DSL or cable Internet) connection to the Web, buying tickets takes less time than a trip to the concession stand.
Cinemas that sell tickets online usually have an ATM-like kiosk in the lobby where you can pick up preordered tickets. That line is a lot shorter than the lines to the box office. At two Chicagoland theaters–Cinemark Melrose Park and Century 12 Evanston and Cinearts 6–you can even print your tickets at home when you order them from the Web. You get a printout of a bar code that you give to the ticket-taker, who scans the bar code and lets you in.
Which service you use depends on which theater you choose to see a movie. That’s because the three services divide up the national movie chains: AMC is aligned with Moviefone and Movietickets; and Loews is signed up with Fandango.
In the Chicago area, more than 30 cinemas offer online ticketing.
To see how well online ticketing works, we tried the big three advance-ticket services: Fandango, AOL Moviefone and Movietickets. We bought tickets to the first movie of the season we wanted to see: “Spider-Man,” which opened May 3. Here’s what we discovered:
AOL MOVIEFONE (www.moviefone.com) Big draw: You can get tickets and movie times by calling the service’s phone line, 312-444-FILM, when you aren’t near a computer. Big downer: The clunky Web site makes it hard to find just the cinemas that sell advance tickets.
To buy online, choose the ZIP code where you want to see the film and click “Go.” Next, look for the gold-colored box “Showtimes & Tickets.”
At the bottom of that box, click on the words “More Search Options.” Scroll down the page to the words “by Theater Amenity.” Click in the box next to “Online Ticketing” and click “Go.”
FANDANGO (www.fandango.com) Big draw: If you’re headed to Fandango-aligned theaters in Evanston or Melrose Park, you can print your movie tickets at home. Big downer: Slightly slower than the other sites, even when using a fast Web connection.
Type in the city or ZIP code where you want to see the film. Next, click on the red showtime you want at the cinema of your choice and buy your tickets. (Gray showtimes mean the showtime is sold out or online ticketing is unavailable at that theater.)
MOVIETICKETS (www.movietickets.com) Big draw: The site is easier to navigate than the site of its partner, AOL Moviefone. Big downer: Same movie chains as AOL Moviefone.
Type in the city or ZIP code where you want to see the film and you’ll get a list of cinemas within 15 miles of the destination you entered. (You can widen that radius up to 40 miles.) Click on a theater printed in purple (theaters printed in gray do not offer online ticketing) and choose your showtime.
Online ticketing is gaining exposure. Jupiter Media Metrix reports the number of people who visited online ticketing sites doubled to 14.9 million in March (the most recent month for which figures are available) from 7.5 million in October.
On the release date of “Spider-Man,” Fandango’s Web site slowed to a crawl, according to the measuring service Keynote Systems. Fandango.com’s load time from a fast (T-1) Internet connection ballooned from its usual 3.5 seconds at 10 a.m. EDT to 30 seconds by 1 p.m. in Chicago and nine other cities across the nation.
Fandango says it has added capacity to prevent future slowdowns.
When computer technology hiccups, you can order tickets by phone. Calling AOL Moviefone at 312-444-FILM gets you showtimes at any Chicagoland cinema, although the ads and the constant button-pressing can try your patience. You can buy tickets but only to cinemas aligned with AOL Moviefone.
Fandango offers showtimes and tickets through 1-800-555-TELL and saying the word “movies.”
If you’d rather talk to a person, you can always buy advance tickets the old-fashioned way: Go to the box office two days in advance.
But when you want to guarantee yourself a seat at a hot-ticket movie tonight (or in some cases, four weeks from now), online ticketing is the way to go.
More than just tickets
When you go to the theater, you get more than a show: You can get popcorn, candy and soda. Likewise, online movie ticketing sites let you do more than check showtimes and buy tickets.
FANDANGO: You can find maps to the theater of your choice and a list of nearby restaurants (with a link to make reservations through Iseatz.com). Also available are movie news and reviews. Sign up for the e-newsletter and the Fandango Actors Club to qualify for promotions, check out more quickly when you buy tickets and customize your Fandango.com page.
MOVIEFONE: See movie previews, reviews, Hollywood gossip, DVD news and reviews, and a list of restaurants and bars near the theater of your choice. Sign up for Moviemail (at the very bottom of the home page) to get an e-newsletter and access to movie screenings.
MOVIETICKETS: Click on “News” and go to Hollywood.com for a big selection of reviews, gossip and celebrity photos. Join My Movietickets.com to get an e-newsletter, check out more quickly when you buy tickets, customize your Movietickets.com Web site and more.
Where to get your tickets
Fandango.com, Moviefone.com and Movietickets.com can give you showtimes at any theater in the Chicago area, but when you’re ready to buy tickets, you have to know which Web site serves the theater you plan to visit. For instance, if you wanted to know showtimes for “About a Boy” at the Esquire 6 on Chicago’s Gold Coast, any of the sites can tell you. But if you wanted to buy tickets to the 9 p.m. show, you can get them only through Fandango.com. That’s because the theater chains are served by one online ticketing company or another (AOL Moviefone and Movietickets share the same chains). Below, you can find out what company serves your nearby cineplex:
AOL MOVIEFONE, MOVIETICKETS
AMC Cantera 30, Warrenville, 847-765-7262
AMC City North Cinema, Chicago, 773-394-1601
AMC Ford City, Chicago, 773-582-1838
AMC Northbrook Court 14, 847-562-1522
AMC Randhurst, Mt. Prospect, 847-590-9788
AMC South Barrington 30, 847-765-7262
AMC Yorktown 18, Lombard, 630-495-0010
AMC Yorktown Premium, Lombard, 630-495-0010
Crown Village 18, Skokie, 847-673-8486
Marcus Addison Cinemas, 630-932-0864
Marcus Chicago Heights, 708-747-0800
Marcus Elgin Fox Theatre, 847-622-1000
Marcus Orland Park Cinemas, 708-873-1900
Marcus Gurnee Cinemas, 847-855-9940
FANDANGO
Century 12 Evanston and CineArts 6, 847-492-0123
Cinemark at 7 Bridges, Woodbridge, 630-663-8875
Cinemark Melrose Park, 708-338-1920
Loews Cineplex Country Club Hills, 708-798-8200
Loews Cineplex Crestwood, 708-396-2300
Loews Cineplex Esquire, Chicago, 312-280-0101
Loews Cineplex Gardens, Skokie, 847-674-0072
Loews Lincoln Village, Chicago, 773-604-4747
Loews McClurg Court, Chicago, 312-642-0723
Loews Cineplex Navy Pier Imax, Chicago, 312-595-0090
Loews Cineplex Norridge 10, 708-452-9000
Loews Quarry 14, Hodgkins, 708-352-0767
Loews River Oaks, Calumet City, 708-868-3400
Loews Cineplex Streets of Woodfield, Schaumburg, 847-330-1017
Loews Webster Place, Chicago, 773-327-3100
Regal Lake Zurich 12, 847-550-0000
Regal Lincolnshire 20, 847-215-2690
