If you were planning to see the new Batman sequel, ‘The Dark Knight Rises,’ when it premieres on July 20th, you may be out of luck — many showings have already sold out. Holy online presale rush, Batman!

After Fandango quietly released tickets last week for the July 19th midnight showings of the movie in select cities, media sources leaked the news and the rush was on.

Entertainment Weekly reports that the 12:01 a.m. IMAX screening in New York City was the first to sell out, with shows in San Francisco and Los Angeles quickly following suit. Many customers shelled out at least $17.50 for the privilege of being among the first to see what’s expected to be Christian Bale’s last run as The Caped Crusader.

Those tickets have become hot commodities on sites like Craigslist, where seats for the New York midnight showing are going for $100 a piece and will probably pop up on eBay as well.

With more and more film buffs opting to skip theaters and wait for the DVDs, the early fan frenzy for the new ‘Batman’ flick is being welcomed by studios — not only does it boost the bottom line, it builds hype and word-of-mouth, which is good for ticket sales overall.

Curious what all the fuss is about? Here’s an early trailer for ‘The Dark Knight Rises’:

[via Time]

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