MUMBAI: Nearly 500 showtimes of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (opening next Tuesday night at midnight) are sold out across the country on Fandango.

The sixth Harry Potter movie currently represents:

– Fandango’s fastest-selling title of the year

– 65% of daily ticket sales on Fandango (followed by Bruno, which accounts for 19% of ticket sales)

– The biggest Harry Potter film yet for the company, at this point in the film’s sales cycle; the sixth Potter is selling twice the amount of tickets that the fifth Harry Potter movie sold at the same point on Fandango.

According to an ongoing survey of Fandango moviegoers planning to see the movie:

– 82% have viewed Half-Blood Prince trailers or clips online.

– 52% said they found the story’s darker elements most appealing, while 15% picked the romance and 9% picked the comic, lighter elements.

– 48% selected Emma Watson as the Potter lead actor most likely to become a major movie star in the next five years; while only 9% picked Rupert Grint and 43% picked Daniel Radcliffe.

– 47% of parents say they’re more comfortable letting their children see the latest Harry Potter movie due to its PG rating (the last two Potter movies were rated PG-13).

"There’s considerably more interest in the Half-Blood Prince because of pent-up anticipation from moviegoers originally expecting to see it last November. Fans have been literally waiting two years for this installment," said Fandango COO Rick Butler.

As a bonus, every Harry Potter advance ticket buyer on Fandango will receive a free music download of the song Friends and Love, from the film’s soundtrack.