“Harry Potter 6” Tickets Outpace “Transformers 2”

The Harry Potter 6 movie opens next week (on Wednesday, July 15) – but the film already represents 61% of daily ticket sales on Fandango. Advance ticket sales for the new Potter movie are outpacing advance sales for “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” and the fifth Potter movie, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” at the same point in those films' sales cycles (eight days before release date). According to an ongoing Fandango survey of more than 3,000 moviegoers planning to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince:

• 85% of respondents have read all seven of the Potter books.
• 84% would be interested in visiting Potter locations from the new film.
• 80% would buy a ticket to a Daniel Radcliffe movie in which he doesn't play Harry Potter.
• 73% are fine with the fact that the last Potter story will be split into two separate movies.

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” will try to edge past “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” as the most successful film of the summer. That will be no small task considering that Revenge of the Fallen has only been a step or two behind The Dark Knight since opening on June 24.

“Harry continues to be ‘The Chosen One', especially among movie fans,” says Rick Butler, Chief Operating Officer for Fandango. “The Half-Blood Prince is turning out to be one of our fastest-selling titles of the year, and has consistently been a top-seller ever since tickets went on sale on June 17.”

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” UK Premiere The long-term prospects for Half-Blood Prince also look promising. July is filled with releases aimed mainly at adult audiences such as “The Ugly Truth” and “Funny People.” “Truth” and Disney's “G-Force” open the weekend after Potter 6, and G-Force won't hit nearly as many demographics as the boy wizard will. Not until “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” opens on August 7 will Half-Blood Prince face a threat for the attention of teenage moviegoers.