Ticket Re-Sellers, Scalpers Join 'The Dark Knight Rises' Frenzy



Ticket brokers and scalpers, who normally tend to focus on sports events and concerts, are looking to cash in on the frenzy around Warner Bros.' The Dark Knight Rises.

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Imax tickets for the first screenings of the film have been re-sold on such ticket trading web sites as Craigslist and Ebay's StubHub for as much as $100 each, the Wall Street Journal reported.



"Movies like The Dark Knight Rises come along once every few years," a ticket broker called Steve told the Journal. 

He said he works for a company that sells tickets, but declined to share his last name.

He said he has sold about 150 of the 200 tickets he bought and offered for $100. Many of the tickets went for the asking price, but the average sales price was $65, he told the paper. 

The 2008 second Batman movie in the Dark Knight trilogy is still the highest-opening 2D movie in North America, with a take of $158.4 million.



The Journal reported that the buzz surrounding the latest film has even led people who are new to ticket re-selling to try it.

Justin Lewan, who was asking $120 for two tickets to a Friday night showing, told the paper that he originally wanted to use the tickets himself. But a friend's sale  "for a decent price" convinced him to try it. "I figured I would try my luck also," he said.



A spokeswoman for StubHub said the sale of movie tickets on the site is "very rare," but added: "I would not be surprised if we start to see more movie tickets being listed on the site."

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai