Finally, no more rushing to the theater before the latest mega-blockbuster sells out. In what is being billed as a literal home box office, two Century Theatres in California – the Century 16 in Mountain View and the Century Capitol 16 in San Jose – will debut Print-at-Home movie tickets today, which allows moviegoers to buy their tickets online at Fandango.com and, here’s the kick, print them out before arriving at the theater.
Print-at-Home ticketing arrives just in time for what is expected to be one of the summer’s biggest movie-going weeks – with the opening of “Jurassic Park III” slated for today and “America’s Sweethearts” this Friday.
Here’s how it works: Visitors to www.fandango.com select the movie and showtime they want, purchase their tickets right their on the site, and print out a unique bar code which they bring with them to the movie theater. At the theater, a ticket taker scans the bar code with a handheld device and instantly prints out the appropriate number of ticket stubs.
“Print-at-Home tickets are a truly revolutionary advancement in the exhibition industry,” said Raymond Syufy, CEO of San Rafael, Calif.-based Century Theatres. Art Levitt, president and CEO of Santa Monica, Calif.-based Fandango Inc., added: “This is another example of how Fandango can use technology and the relationship with our exhibitor partners to enhance and improve the moviegoing experience. Print-at-Home ticketing is clearly gaining tremendous momentum, and brings a level of convenience and assurance that moviegoers have never before experienced.”
Fandango, a market leader in remote ticketing, began testing its Print-at-Home technology in Plano, Texas last summer, and has introduced the concept to theaters in 11 cities nationwide, where it has proven extremely popular. In the coming months, Fandango’s Print-at-Home technology will be available at even more theaters throughout the U.S.
Perhaps pre-ordering your Coke and popcorn and have it waiting on your chair will be next.