'The Dark Knight Rises' Screenings Selling Out Fast

Thousands of avid fans will begin lining up at theaters across the Southland tonight for midnight screenings of "The Dark Knight Rises," the highly anticipated final installment of director Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy.

Anticipation is running so high, that screenings across the region are rapidly filling up, with most showings listed as sold out.

The Edwards Brea Stadium East 12 will screen the film at midnight on six screens. However all but one screening was sold out as of 1 p.m. Two screens showing the entire trilogy were scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. However one of the marathon screenings is sold out.

Ontario Palace Stadium 22, an Edwards Cinema, has two IMAX shows that have sold out. One at 12:01 a.m. The other at 3:30 a.m. The movie length of 2 and 45 minutes ensures that most of those dedicated fans will not leave until well after 6 a.m.

There are 21 other non-IMAX screenings and 12 of them are sold out. The latest on a regular screen is scheduled at 3:30 a.m.

Fortunately, Harkins Chino Hills 18 Cinema has 13 midnight showings. Tickets are still available for four showings (nine sold out). For the hardcore fans, there is a showing at 3:30 a.m. And for the early birds, the first showing Friday is 8:30 a.m. The films then runs for the rest of the day.

Starring Christian Bale and Anne Hathaway, the film is "the most anticipated movie of the summer, if not the year," Paul Dergarabedian, president of Hollywood.com's box office division, told City News Service.

And if the previous Batman film and the sold out screenings are any indication, "The Dark Knight Rises" will have a blockbuster debut.

When 2008's "The Dark Knight" was released, it posted the biggest opening weekend of all-time with $158.4 million. The film was later bested by the eighth and final "Harry Potter" film and the recent superhero extravaganza "The Avengers."

According to Hollywood.com, "The Dark Knight" broke midnight screening records when it was released with $18.5 million. The film eventually grossed just more than $1 billion worldwide.

Dergarabedian said the latest Batman film probably will not beat "The Avengers"' $207.4 million opening-weekend record, mainly because the film isn't in 3-D, and thus the admission price is lower. But he said it has a shot at beating "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II," even though that film was also in 3-D and earned $169.2 million in its opening weekend.

According to Dergarabedian, only five movies have exceeded $150 million at the domestic box office during the opening weekend -- and "The Dark Knight Rises" will likely join that group.

Fans have already been in a frenzy about the film. The movie-review website Rotten Tomatoes was forced to shut off its popular online comment feature when some Batman-backers lashed out at people who posted negative advance reviews of the film -- including some death threats.

The locations of the theaters mentioned in this story are listed below:

Edwards Brea Stadium East 12
155 W. Birch St., Brea
(714) 672-1012

Edwards Ontario Palace Stadium 22 & IMAX
4900 E. 4th St., Ontario
(909) 476-1525

Harkins Chino Hills 18 Cinema
3070 Chino Ave.
Chino Hills, CA  91709
909-627-8010