Theater Chains Hope Joint Web Site Will Be Jolt to Ticket Sales.Not to be outdone out·do tr.v. out·did , out·done , out·do·ing, out·does To do more or better than in performance or action. See Synonyms at excel. by their, bigger competitors, several mid-size cinema chains have banded together to create their own Web site hawking movie tickets and giving information on show times and theater locations. The new venture, dubbed dub 1 tr.v. dubbed, dub·bing, dubs 1. To tap lightly on the shoulder by way of conferring knighthood. 2. To honor with a new title or description. 3. Fandango fandango (făndăng`gō), ancient Spanish dance, probably of Moorish origin, that came into Europe in the 17th cent. It is in triple time and is danced by a single couple to the accompaniment of castanets, guitar, and songs sung by the .com, enters a crowded market. It is competing with the likes of such well-known sites as Hollywood.com, MovieTickets.com, Tickets.com and MovieFone.com. And there's no sign that profits are on the horizon for any of these sites. Indeed, Reel.com, which was purchased in 1998 by Hollywood Video for $100 million, recently pulled the plug on its Web site, which had sold videos and DVDs and provided movie news, reviews and show times. Still, that's not discouraging the seven movie exhibitors, many of them based in L.A., from launching Fandango.com sometime this summer. Its test site is slated for launch in the next few weeks. The company, dubbed Fandango Inc., is a partnership between Loews Cineplex Entertainment, Regal Cinemas, Carmike Cinemas, Cinemark Theatres, General Cinema Theatres, Edwards Theatres and Century Theatres. Collectively, these chains make up more than 40 percent of the U.S. movie-going market, company officials said. Heading up Fandango Inc. will be Art Levitt III, recently named president and chief executive. Levitt, currently president of Disney Regional Entertainment and former president and chief executive of Hard Rock Cafe Hard Rock Cafe is a chain of casual dining restaurants. It was founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton, and their first Hard Rock Cafe opened near Hyde Park Corner in London, in a former Rolls Royce car dealerships showroom close to Hyde Park, where in 1979 they began to International, starts his new job July 1. "This will be the only site where you will be able to purchase tickets to the movie theaters of these seven exhibitors outside of these theaters," Levitt said. However, moviegoers also will still be able to purchase movie tickets to Loews, General Cinema, and Edwards cinemas on MovieFone.com for at least a year - until the contracts between those chains and the Web site expire. Andrew Jarecki, chief executive of MovieFone.com, which was purchased by America Online See AOL. last year, said he isn't worried about the competition from Fandango.com, which will be based in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . He said MovieFone sells movie tickets for 25 to 30 exhibitor chains across the country and has 3 million unique visitors A count of how many different people access a Web site. For example, if a user leaves and comes back to the site five times during the measurement period, that person is counted as one unique visitor, but would count as five "user sessions. a week that use the Web site or order tickets by telephone. "I don't think it will affect us at all," Jarecki said from his headquarters in White Plains, N.Y. "I think the main issue here is, the public has a big appetite for movie-going." Hollywood.com executives say they aren't concerned, either. That company sells tickets for AMC Theatres This article or section has multiple issues: * Its tone or style may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. * It reads like an advertisement and needs to be rewritten in a neutral point of view. , the biggest exhibitor in the country. Hollywood.com has never sold tickets for the seven movie exhibitors forming Fandango.com. "We were not as interested in having exhibitors that competed with each other in the same market," said Mitchell Rubenstein, chairman and chief executive of Hollywood.com. While Fandango is debating whether to charge movie-goers a fee for purchasing tickets online, Hollywood.com and MovieFone.com charge no fee for online purchases. They make their money through e-commerce sales of movie-related merchandise, by selling banner ads A graphic image used on Web sites to advertise a product or service. Banner ads come in numerous sizes, but are often rectangles 460 pixels wide by 60 pixels high. Also 460 x 55 and 392 x 72 sizes are commonly used. on their sites, and by charging exhibitors a fee for each ticket sold online. |
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