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Avengers: Endgame fans queue for hours for cinema tickets | |
(32 minutes later) | |
Advance sales of Avengers: Endgame movie tickets in Singapore caused cinema websites to crash on Wednesday. | |
Singaporean Marvel fans took to social media to complain after being unable to purchase cinema tickets. | Singaporean Marvel fans took to social media to complain after being unable to purchase cinema tickets. |
Shaw Cinema introduced an online queue management system that saw over 72,000 people waiting for hours for their turn to select tickets. | Shaw Cinema introduced an online queue management system that saw over 72,000 people waiting for hours for their turn to select tickets. |
Some people took advantage of the situation to resell the tickets online. | Some people took advantage of the situation to resell the tickets online. |
Golden Village and Cathay Cinemas both experienced problems with their online payment systems. | Golden Village and Cathay Cinemas both experienced problems with their online payment systems. |
The cinemas told Channel News Asia that their websites were unable to handle the sheer numbers of fans trying to buy tickets online. | The cinemas told Channel News Asia that their websites were unable to handle the sheer numbers of fans trying to buy tickets online. |
Frustrated fans | Frustrated fans |
Cinemagoer Devaash Mahantheran said he had to wait for five hours in the Shaw Cinema online queue, before the system crashed and pushed him to the back of the queue. | Cinemagoer Devaash Mahantheran said he had to wait for five hours in the Shaw Cinema online queue, before the system crashed and pushed him to the back of the queue. |
Vincent Wong was similarly unhappy: "No matter which browser and which platform I use, I keep getting an error message and unable to complete my transaction. Take a look at how many seats are on hold with no way to advance to [the] payment stage, and nobody responds on the customer service line." | Vincent Wong was similarly unhappy: "No matter which browser and which platform I use, I keep getting an error message and unable to complete my transaction. Take a look at how many seats are on hold with no way to advance to [the] payment stage, and nobody responds on the customer service line." |
People could still go to the cinemas in person to purchase tickets, and on Singaporean online marketplace mobile app Carousell, there were hundreds of listings reselling pairs of Avengers: Endgame movie tickets at various prices. | People could still go to the cinemas in person to purchase tickets, and on Singaporean online marketplace mobile app Carousell, there were hundreds of listings reselling pairs of Avengers: Endgame movie tickets at various prices. |
Tickets are being resold from $20 Singapore dollars (£11) all the way up to $600 Singapore dollars (£340). | |
Marvel fan Jolyn Ng told the BBC that she had anticipated that the pre-sale queues would be really bad. | Marvel fan Jolyn Ng told the BBC that she had anticipated that the pre-sale queues would be really bad. |
She was so worried that she would not be able to get tickets during the pre-sale on Wednesday that she had asked her employer for leave on 24 April - the film's Singapore release date - so that she could find a way to grab tickets. | She was so worried that she would not be able to get tickets during the pre-sale on Wednesday that she had asked her employer for leave on 24 April - the film's Singapore release date - so that she could find a way to grab tickets. |
"I had all the cinema websites open in tabs on my computer overnight, and at 09:30am, I was placed 993rd in the Shaw online queue," she told the BBC. | "I had all the cinema websites open in tabs on my computer overnight, and at 09:30am, I was placed 993rd in the Shaw online queue," she told the BBC. |
"But luckily I woke up at 3am due to being on edge, and I was able to buy the tickets from EagleWings Cinematics, a new independent cinema that opened last year." | "But luckily I woke up at 3am due to being on edge, and I was able to buy the tickets from EagleWings Cinematics, a new independent cinema that opened last year." |
The queuing system used by Shaw is designed to prevent people from crashing websites. | The queuing system used by Shaw is designed to prevent people from crashing websites. |
It is more commonly seen on websites that see huge spikes in traffic, such as the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play, or the Glastonbury Festival ticket website. | It is more commonly seen on websites that see huge spikes in traffic, such as the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play, or the Glastonbury Festival ticket website. |
Shaw Cinemas apologised to fans who were left disappointed. | Shaw Cinemas apologised to fans who were left disappointed. |
"It was more than twice the traffic compared to our last encounter of a similar nature, and thus the system moved rather slowly and stalled at times," a spokesperson told Channel News Asia. | "It was more than twice the traffic compared to our last encounter of a similar nature, and thus the system moved rather slowly and stalled at times," a spokesperson told Channel News Asia. |
Singapore has a population of 5.8 million people, and one of the highest per capita cinema attendances in the world. | Singapore has a population of 5.8 million people, and one of the highest per capita cinema attendances in the world. |
There are 257 cinema screens in the country, and 19 million movie tickets are sold annually, according to the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA). | There are 257 cinema screens in the country, and 19 million movie tickets are sold annually, according to the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA). |
Latest data from the government agency shows that Marvel's The Avengers is the all-time highest grossing movie in Singapore, earning $12.9m Singapore dollars (£7.3m) at the box office in 2017. | Latest data from the government agency shows that Marvel's The Avengers is the all-time highest grossing movie in Singapore, earning $12.9m Singapore dollars (£7.3m) at the box office in 2017. |
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