When Avengers: Endgame tickets first went on sale near the start of this month, ticketing sites saw an overwhelming influx of visitors scrambling to book those first screenings, causing some sites to crash from the traffic. Now we’re just a few days away from seeing those same fans come pouring into theaters, but it seems that AMC is doing all they can to accommodate the impending rush.
According to Deadline, the theater chain has 29 of its cinemas scheduled to be open around-the-clock this Thursday through Friday. On top of that, 18 theaters are open nonstop Thursday through Saturday, while an additional 17 locations will keep going into Sunday, staying open for 72 hours straight.
AMC’s Executive Vice President and Chief Programming Officer Elizabeth Frank explained these drastic measures as follows.
“AMC guests have already purchased more tickets to Avengers: Endgame than we’ve ever sold in advance of a film’s release – and our first shows aren’t until Thursday evening,” Frank said. “With a desire to satisfy as many Marvel fans as possible on Thursday and through the weekend, AMC’s programming team is reviewing ticket sales theatre by theatre and adding showtimes later and later. In fact, there are multiple AMC locations that will be operating around the clock from Thursday night through Sunday.”
Deadline also relays word from industry sources that AMC – along with the No. 2 and 3 chains Regal and Cinemark — is estimated to be driving 90% of Endgame’s $120 million-plus advance ticket sales. Meanwhile, AMC is hosting marathons of all 22 MCU movies in three US locations, those being: AMC Lincoln Square 13 in New York City, AMC River East 21 in Chicago and AMC Metreon 16 in San Francisco.
AMC’s extreme preparations for Avengers: Endgame may seem excessive until you consider the film’s phenomenal pre-sales. On Fandango, for instance, the movie managed to beat the 24-hour pre-sales record held by Star Wars: The Force Awakens in a mere 6 hours, before beating the first week sales of Avengers: Infinity War at a ratio of 5:1. Clearly, the demand for screenings is insanely high, but you can judge for yourself if the film is worth all the hype when it arrives in theaters on April 26th.
