Fans eager to see \u201cDune: Part Three\u201d on the biggest screens in December first had to survive the online ticket queue.<\/p>\n
Many on social media reported long waits and ticketing site crashes Tuesday as they scrambled to snag seats for early IMAX 70 mm screenings in December.<\/p>\n
\u201cAm I tripping or did every website for Dune 3 IMAX 70MM crash?\u201d an X user wrote<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cHelp! Has anybody beaten this bug\/error to secure Dune 3 tickets???\u201d another person asked, sharing a screenshot of the Fandango site with a message that read: \u201cInternal server error. Please try again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI HAVE THREE DEVICES OPEN TRYING TO GET DUNE TICKETS AND NONE OF THEM WORK,\u201d another X user said<\/a>. <\/p>\n The rollout is the latest sign of a growing frenzy around seeing major movies in specific premium formats, in which securing the right seat and screen has become an event of its own. A similar rush unfolded in June, when advance sales for Christopher Nolan\u2019s \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d overwhelmed AMC\u2019s website<\/a>, with some moviegoers reporting hourslong waits.<\/p>\n \u201cDune: Part Three\u201d is the latest installment in Warner Bros. Pictures\u2019 adaptation of Frank Herbert\u2019s seminal 1965 novel set thousands of years in the future in a world devastated by ecological collapse. The movie, directed by Denis Villeneuve, picks up 17 years after the previous one, with Paul Atreides (played by Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet) ruling the galaxy while in a political marriage to Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh). <\/p>\n The sci-fi franchise, which also stars Zendaya and Jason Momoa, has become an audience must-see since the first installment\u2019s box-office success in 2021<\/a>. <\/p>\n Though the new film isn\u2019t being released until Dec. 18, some fans had already bragged about getting their tickets in April<\/a> when IMAX first released a limited number of tickets for some screenings. <\/p>\n Last week, IMAX sent out an email telling fans to \u201cSave the Date\u201d for another chance to get early tickets. <\/p>\n \u201cDear IMAX fans, You showed up in a big way when the first DUNE: PART THREE tickets were released,\u201d the email read. \u201cWe\u2019ve heard you and know you want more access to tickets and more time to plan. So, here you go… The next opportunity to get DUNE: PART THREE tickets will arrive in one week on Tuesday, August 18 at 9:00 a.m. PST. This ticket drop will unlock more opening week DUNE Insider Screenings in IMAX and IMAX 70mm, so mark your calendars, make your plans, and get ready to return to Arrakis.\u201d<\/p>\n By Tuesday, people\u2019s efforts to secure tickets had turned into viral mayhem. Fans reported that at certain points, AMC\u2019s and Fandango\u2019s apps had crashed<\/a>. (AMC and Fandango did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.) <\/p>\n Several people who managed to get tickets said it took them over an hour of waiting. A person on X posted a picture of a line wrapped around an AMC in New York, where<\/a> fans tried to secure tickets in person. Some people also began reselling their early tickets on eBay for up to $1,000<\/a>.<\/p>\n The demand for multiformat viewing experiences is fueling moviegoing FOMO<\/a>, reshaping how studios market tentpole films and prompting an effort to bring order to an increasingly crowded premium-screen landscape.<\/p>\n Some frustrated cinephiles argue theater chains and studios should do more to ensure a smoother ticketing process. <\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re going to turn movie ticket-buying into a competitive sport, then you need to have the tech and UX to support that shift,\u201d film critic Barry Hertz wrote on X<\/a>. \u201cTheatrical exhibition is not easy, certainly, but it doesn\u2019t need to be this hard.\u201d <\/p>\n