Fandango Ticket Sales Represent 30 Percent of ‘Black Panther’ Opening Weekend Numbers

'Black Panther' became Fandango's top superhero opening weekend ticket-seller, as well as their leading February opening weekend ticket-seller.

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Photography by YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP/Getty Images

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Fandango reported on Tuesday that Black Panther’s advanced ticket sales made up more than 30 percent of the film’s $242 million four-day opening weekend business, a total of $72 million for Fandango.

That’s one of the biggest opening weekends for the advance ticket seller’s 18 years in the business. Fandango was also the first to notice how hot Black Panther would sell. Movie tickets first went on sale on Jan. 9, and within a day, Fandango recognized that the Disney/Marvel production was ahead of advanced ticket sales for Captain America: Civil War in 2016 (that movie saw a $179.1 million opening). Initial tracking a month before Black Panther's release showed that the opening would garner over $120 million, but the film took off from there.

Black Panther hit a lot of firsts for Fandango, as it became the company’s top superhero opening weekend ticket-seller, and their leading February opening weekend ticket-seller. Overall, the movie became their No. 4 all-time top pre-seller, after the last three Star Wars films.

Fandango President Paul Yanover commented, “Our share of the opening weekend box office for Black Panther points to Fandango’s comprehensive coverage and ubiquity on all online and mobile devices, as well as social media platforms, wherever fans are discovering movies and looking to buy tickets.”

He continued, “We mobilized our entire portfolio of digital properties to drive ticketing for this blockbuster film, including offering an exclusive poster from Fandango FanShop with a ticketing purchase, to a full suite of Black Panther branded movie ticket gift cards, and more. We congratulate the filmmakers and the studio on delivering a groundbreaking superhero movie that keeps audiences coming back again and again.”

It’s clear from Fandango’s sales that moviegoers viewed Black Panther as an event, rather than a last-minute buy. A lot of the advance purchased tickets were bought by churches, youth groups, fraternities, sororities, and other student-led groups that were commemorating the occasion together.

The #BlackPantherChallenge surrounding the film also went viral, which permitted children to see the film for free. The New York-based philanthropist Frederick Joseph started the campaign in January, which raised $40,000 for Harlem kids to see the movie.

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