In super shocking news, a lot of people want to see The Avengers. We reported last night that Joss Whedonâs all-star superhero pic is breaking records at the international box office (itâs already open in Australia, New Zealand, and Taiwan), and today MovieTickets.com announced that more pre-sale tickets have been sold for The Avengers than the pre-sale numbers for Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger combined at this same point in the sales cycle for each film. In a related story, water is wet.Though this pre-sale statistic is in no way surprising, one interesting tidbit that MovieTickets.com released is that 56% of pre-sales for The Avengers is for 3D showings. Hit the jump for more.The Avengers was not filmed in 3D, and Whedon even admitted that he tested 3D cameras when he shot the tag for Thor and he wasnât exactly taken by the format. The 3D in all the previous Marvel films has been unnecessary and unimpressive, so I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in seeing The Avengers in 3D.One possible explanation for why the majority of early ticket buyers are seeing the film in 3D is the fact that most midnight showings are only held in 3D. Itâs a pesky little practice, but theater owners know that fans of a movie of this caliber are going to the midnight showing no matter what, so they might as well hold it exclusively in 3D and increase their profits. Iâm all for 3D when itâs done right and with purpose (Hugo, Avatar), but it just feels obtrusive when its tacked on primarily for monetary reasons and with little enthusiasm from the filmâs director.Hereâs a rundown of MovieTickets.comâs The Avengers presale data:
- MARVELâS THE AVENGERS is pre-selling more tickets for the upcoming release than the online ticketing company sold for CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER, THOR, IRON MAN 2, and IRON MAN combined at the same point in the sales cycle for each film. In fact, pre-sales of MARVELâS THE AVENGERS is over one and a half times that of these past Marvel films combined sales at the same point in the sales cycle.
- MARVELâS THE AVENGERS is selling 3,995% more tickets than CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER at the same point in the sales cycle.
- MARVELâS THE AVENGERS is selling 1,034% more tickets than THOR at the same point in the sales cycle.
- MARVELâS THE AVENGERS is selling 114% more tickets than IRON MAN 2 at the same point in the sales cycle.
- MARVELâS THE AVENGERS is selling 1,406% more tickets than IRON MAN at the same point in the sales cycle.
- 56% of pre-sales for MARVELâS THE AVENGERS are from fans wanting to see the film in 3D.
- Nearly 37% of pre-sales for MARVELâS THE AVENGERS are from moviegoers buying tickets to see the film in IMAX 3D.