AT-HOME BOX OFFICE TRIO OF WEB SITES ARE SELLING TICKETS TO HOT MOVIES FASTER THAN CONSUMERS CAN CLICK THEIR MICE.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

Scores of rabid fans feverishly awaiting the releases of ``Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'' and ``The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'' didn't want to leave it to chance when it came to nabbing opening day tickets.

In years past, they might have stopped by their local multiplex early in the day to buy tickets for a show that night. Or, less appealing, there was the option of standing in a long line before showtime with other devotees, hoping and praying that a ``sold out'' sign would not appear in the box office window before they were safely ensconced inside, buttered popcorn and Junior Mints in hand.

So savvy ``Potter'' and ``Rings'' fans, fearing just such a sellout for the two most highly anticipated films of 2001, turned in droves to online and telephone ticket services. This flurry of activity led to record business for Fandango, Moviefone and MovieTickets.com, the three players in the fast-growing niche of advance movie-ticket sales.

``I think America's expectations of how they buy movie tickets is evolving,'' said Art Levitt, president and chief executive of Santa Monica- based Fandango Inc. ``When there is pent-up demand for a particular film, especially on opening weekend, consumers want to get out and join the excitement, they want to take advantage of the guaranteed ticket.''

Fandango sold almost 1 million online tickets in November alone, a majority of them for ``Harry Potter'' which grossed a staggering $93.5 million during its opening weekend - an industry record.

In the weeks leading up to the film's Nov. 19 release, Moviefone, which does not release ticket sales figures, had more than 5.7 million visitors to its Web site, the biggest month in the Web site's history and for any movie Web site ever, according to Tommy McGloin, senior vice president and general manager of Culver City-based Moviefone, which was acquired by AOL Time Warner in 1999.

The boom was further boosted by the Dec. 21 release of ``Rings,'' which grossed $18.2 million on its first day of release, grabbing the record for the biggest single-day December gross ever.

While ``Potter'' and ``Rings'' brought the services to unprecedented heights, early momentum actually began at the start of the year with ``Hannibal,'' the long-awaited sequel to ``The Silence of the Lambs.''

`` 'Hannibal' did very well with online sales, 'Pearl Harbor' was a huge online movie for us, then 'Planet of the Apes,''' said Brian Callaghan, director of film marketing for the General Cinema chain, one of the several chains that has invested in Fandango. ``People wanted to see these movies opening weekend and wanted to get their tickets in advance. Then 'Harry Potter' and 'Lord of the Rings' broke all records.''

Other big advance ticket sellers were ``Shrek,'' ``Jurassic Park 3,'' ``Monsters, Inc.,'' ``American Pie 2,'' ``Rush Hour 2,'' and ``The Mummy Returns.''

``We're thrilled with the growth and usage of the service since they introduced it,'' said AMC spokesman Rick King, whose chain uses Florida- based MovieTickets.com. ``In our first year of online ticket sales, we did more volume online then we had done in the previous 10 years of teleticketing. Our year-to-year rate has more than doubled since that time.''

All three companies predict that the coming year will be a record one for them, if not the entire movie industry, with a new ``Star Wars'' film on tap, a second ``Austin Powers'' sequel, the second ``Men in Black'' movie, a live-action version of ``Spider-Man'' and, late in the year, the second films in the ``Harry Potter'' and ``Lord of the Rings'' series.

``Those blockbuster movies will warrant putting tickets on sale at least two weeks in advance whenever we can,'' Calaghan said. ``There's a tremendous built-in audience for sequels and huge event movies.''

More typically, tickets for a new release will go on sale online four to five days in advance. On opening weekend, the evening prime time showings get the most purchases, as was evidenced in recent weeks with strong sales for the military drama ``Black Hawk Down'' which knocked ``Rings'' from the No. 1 box office position.

The thirst to see a blockbuster on opening weekend is perpetuated by movie studios which strive to have the biggest opening weekend possible. With approximately 35,000 screens in the U.S., there are more venues than ever for a film to debut. As a result, audiences no longer shy away from braving crowds during the opening weekend of a highly-anticipated movie and by the next weekend, they have moved on to the next blockbuster.

But Mitchell Rubenstein, co-chief executive of MovieTickets.com, maintains that the key to long-term growth of advanced ticket sales is getting consumers into the habit of using the services each time they go to the movies, not just for the opening weekend of a blockbuster.

``When you have a blockbuster like 'Harry Potter' or 'Lord of the Rings,' it gives people the incentive to use the service,'' Rubenstein said. ``But ultimately, the success of these kinds of ventures is not dependent upon blockbusters but upon people starting to use the services to buy tickets for the regular movies they are going to see. You gotta have singles, doubles and triples as well as the home run.''

The three services are in different stages of offering a tool in which customers can actually print out their movie tickets at home after ordering them online. Their tickets are then scanned in at the theater by bar code. So far, the chain's General Cinema's Avco Theater in Westwood is the only location in Southern California that is equipped to accept Fandango's print-at-home tickets, but the company plans to give more theaters in the area scanning capability soon.

With at-home printing still in the early stages, many theaters have kiosks near the box office where customers insert their credit cards for identification purposes and their tickets are printed for them. They can then bypass the line and the box office. For theaters without a kiosk, customers must still wait in line and pick up their tickets in ``will call'' fashion but do have the assurance of a seat.

``We are also finding more usage by adults who make plans to go out to see a movie Friday or Saturday and get a baby sitter,'' Callaghan said. ``Before, they used to leave it to chance. They'd go to dinner, show up at the theater and hope they could get in.''

Entire families are also using the service in increasing numbers.

``If you are going to pile three kids and mom and dad into the minivan to go to the theater, you want to make sure you have tickets for the show,'' said Sallie Green, Fandango's vice president of marketing and product development.

Rubenstein said it is the newer stadium theaters that get the bulk of the online business.

``These are the cool, new theaters that people want to go to,'' he said. ``And the teens and young adults who frequent them the most are Internet savvy. It's second-nature to them compared to the older generation.''

Fandango (www.fandango.com) charges a service fee of between 75 cents and $1. In about 65 theaters, they do print online ticketing, which will be expanding to other locations throughout the country. Their service can be used at Carmike, Century, Cinemark, Edwards and General Cinema theaters as well as Loews Cineplex Entertainment and Regal Cinemas.

MovieTickets.com (www.movietickets.com) charges between 50 cents and $1 for a transaction. They offer print-at-home in 60 theaters but plans to expand the service to all of their theaters by the end of the year. Their service can be used at AMC theaters, National Amusements and Famous Players.

MovieFone (www.moviefone.com) charges $1 for Internet orders and between $1 and $1.50 for phone orders. Moviefone plans to embark on home printing later this year. Their service can be used at the Mann, United and Clearview chains as well as anywhere Moviefone is accepted (the companies have a reciprocal agreement).

Moviefone is pleased with the increase in advanced ticket sales, but McGloin said the company partners with studios to raise awareness and build buzz around an upcoming release and influence people to see the film right around the date of its release.

``It's more about movie marketing, not just movie ticketing,'' McGloin said. ``There's no other medium where you can do both. 'Lord of the Rings' was an outstanding example of dozens of different online campaigns as well as advanced ticketing. We did especially well selling tickets. It was near 'Harry Potter' in terms of numbers and has continued very strongly.''

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(color) no caption (Online movie theatre tickets for Harry Potter)

Photo illustration by David Sprague/Staff Photographer