The Day is Finally Here!

60,000 advance tickets sold at AMC Theaters for the Dark Knight Rises.  That is one impressive number that has broke multiple records already and the movie is not set to be released until 12:01am tonight.  Tonight at midnight our city will come into the limelight as The Dark Knight Rises is shown to thousands of people with tickets for the midnight showing. 


Jessica Kapsha won't be in the audience when "The Dark Knight Rises" premieres just after midnight Friday at the AMC-Loews at the Waterfront.

She was satisfied with her purchase today of two tickets to the Sunday matinee.

"We don't want to get too in the crowd," said Ms. Kapsha, 28, of Elizabeth.

Few may know what fate awaits Batman and villain Bane in the final film of the Christopher Nolan trilogy, but one outcome is certain -- plenty of people will be crowding into theaters this weekend to find out.

"The excitement and enthusiasm that we are hearing from guests online or at the theater level has just been phenomenal," said Ryan Noonan, a spokesman for AMC Theatres. Just after midnight Friday, the movie will be shown on 13 screens at The Waterfront.

Nationally, the company has sold more than 60,000 advance tickets to see a marathon event -- all three Batman films Thursday night into Friday morning -- that has sold double the number of tickets sold for The Ultimate Marvel movie marathon in May, when "The Avengers" was released.

This weekend, the whole country will sink into Batmania, but in Pittsburgh -- where several scenes were filmed last summer -- the frenzy feels especially intense. Tickets for a midnight showing of the film at the Carnegie Science Center on the North Side sold out the same day they went on sale last month, said spokeswoman Kim Bonenberger.

The Batman trilogy marathon is nearly sold out at the SouthSide Works Cinema, and sales for the midnight showing have broken records set by "Harry Potter" and "Twilight," said David Huffman, director of marketing at Cleveland and Pittsburgh Cinemas, which owns the SouthSide Works location.

"The added fact that the film was shot in Pittsburgh has only added to the excitement for what was already one of the most anticipated films of the year," Mr. Huffman said.

The movie's Pittsburgh premiere was Tuesday night at the Byham Theater, Downtown, with people including Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and former Steeler Hines Ward in attendance.

They saw Christian Bale as Batman, Tom Hardy as Bane and Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, and they may have seen Tony Amen as a prisoner.

The 70-year-old with a "Soprano look" from Penn Hills worked as an extra, and when one of the film's trailers was released, Mr. Amen spotted himself.

He'll probably buy a ticket to see it this weekend, but he's in no rush.

The trailer alone, he said, was "quite a thrill."

For more information about The Dark Knight Rises see the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.