Article

Harry Potter and the moviegoer's kiosk

Movie fans turn to online ticketing sites and on-premise kiosks to obtain film tickets in advance of a blockbuster movie's release.

February 24, 2002

For fans of Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic, and all other things Harry Potter, Nov. 16 has been circled in red ink ever since it was announced as the release date for Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone, the first movie based on J.K. Rowling's phenomenally popular series of children's books.

But some Muggles were luckier than others in the days leading up the film's release. The lucky Harry Potter fans are the ones that preordered their tickets.

The film is anticipated to break many box office records on its opening weekend, and some fans will be disappointed to find the "sold out" sign waiting for them at the cinema. They will be even more disappointed when others enter the cinema, walk past them, get their ticket from a kiosk, and head inside for the show.

Ticketing kiosks have become prevalent throughout North America. Moviegoers can purchase their tickets at the kiosk rather than stand in line at the box office. And kiosk manufacturers such as Toronto-based The Kiosk Factory have created custom-designed kiosks that look like movie characters and blend well in the razzle-dazzle surroundings of most cinemas.

But movie fans are also utilizing the kiosk to pick up their advance tickets - tickets that were purchased online hours or days before the film's screening.

When it comes to a movie like Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone, the kiosk and online ticketing centers create a harmonious convergence for technologically savvy moviegoers.

"This is why (ticketing kiosks) were invented," said The Kiosk Factory president Julian Bowron. "The same thing that's happening with the Harry Potter movie happened with the Star Wars movie (last year). There's been four or five films the last two years that had tremendous advance interest because people can buy tickets in advance on the kiosk."

Lights, cameras, ticket purchases

Three of the biggest online ticketing firms in the country, AOL Moviefone, Movietickets.com, and Fandango.com, anticipate advance orders on the Harry Potter movie to break records. A Fandango official told the Washington Post that the film has already broken the previous advance orders record of 100,000 set earlier in November for Monsters Inc.

"(The industry) is growing, and more and more people are feeling comfortable buying tickets online," Jarvis Mak, a senior analyst with Nielsen/Net Ratings, told the Washington Post.

The online sites have ties with major movie chains. Movietickets.com, for instance, offers online ticket sales for the National Amusements Inc. cinema chain, which owns theaters in 15 states. Moviegoers can link to Movietickets directly through National Amusements's Web site. Movietickets's site features show times and information on purchasing tickets online with a credit card.

Kiosks such as The Kiosk Factory's Ming line can handle advance ticket orders for blockbuster films.

Once the ticket is purchased, it can be printed out and taken to the theater. Or the ticket can be picked up at the theater, either at the box office or the kiosk. The credit card can be swiped through the kiosk to identify the moviegoer, who is then given the ticket.

Blockbuster films wind up running at major movie chains such as National Amusements and Canadian-based Famous Players. This means the same film can run on literally hundreds of screens all owned by the same chain. And all those screens are all available at the same Web site.

"For a movie like this, you can have people hunting around, looking for a theater you could go to to see the film," Bowron said. "You could go to a theater that's two hours away to see a movie."

That's a wrap

For moviegoers, especially those pressed for time, online ticket sales are a way of squeezing entertainment options into a busy lifestyle. For cinema chains, advance ticket sales can alleviate congestion. The trick is to watch your ticket allocation practices carefully.

"One of the features of a good system is the ability of theater managers to release tickets to a central inventory repository," Bowron said. "They can be sold at the kiosk or on the Internet. It's a film marketer's dream. But you have to be careful not to oversell the theater."

Sellouts have already been reported in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, and other major cities, according to the Washington Post. The Harry Potter phenomenon appears to be effortlessly translating from bookshelves to the movie screen.

"It's definitely going to be the largest advance ticketing movie ever," Tommy McGloin, AOL Moviefone general manager told the Washington Post. "America Online hasn't even turned on the full force of its promotion for Harry Potter."

In a way it does not have to. The Internet and theater ticketing kiosks are helping ensure that Harry Potter fans get their fill of life at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on opening weekend.