Wall-to-wall screenings selling out as audiences feel the 'High School' hype

ADVANCE BOOKINGS for teenage blockbuster High School Musical 3have been "phenomenal" according to its Irish distributor.

Tomorrow night's screenings have been sold out for a week in some cinemas while others expect to sell out despite some holding almost 70 screenings over the bank holiday. The film took in over €200,000 on its opening day in Ireland on Wednesday.

"This is before Irish school children are on mid-term break, and before both the Irish Bank holiday and Halloween," Trish Long of Walt Disney Ireland said yesterday.

There have been three or four sold-out shows in the evenings so far, a spokeswoman for Eye Cinema in Galway said yesterday.

The atmosphere has been fantastic, she said, with girls dressed up and singing and dancing during the credits.

"There have been a few sell-outs already," a spokeswoman for Dublin city centre cinema, Cineworld said. Most screenings have been sold out so far, a spokesman for Movies at Dundrum in Dublin said.

Advance weekend bookings for the all-singing and all-dancing US film also seem to be high with some large cinemas such as Dundrum and Cineworld expecting to be sold out by Saturday night. This is despite showings every half an hour on five screens over the weekend at Dundrum and over 50 weekend screenings at Cineworld.

A basketball competition, cheerleaders and face-painters are among the entertainment in Eye cinema in Galway.

"It's on par with Sex and the Cityin terms of hype, but with a different demographic, the kids are very excited" a spokeswoman for Eye cinema in Galway said.

"Despite the fact that Ireland is not culturally known to be a leader in terms of booking cinema tickets in advance, High School Musical 3did a phenomenal €150,000 advance sales in Ireland ahead of its theatrical opening in Irish cinemas on Wednesday," Ms Long said.

Screenings during next week are also expected to be busy with teenagers and their parents already booking for the mid-term break at Dundrum cinema.

"We're really looking forward to an exciting week in terms of box office results, given the Irish audience's awareness and love of High School Musical," she said.

As expected, the audience for this "teen sensation" whose previous two releases were only on DVD have been younger than most films.

Film review, by the professional and the fan, in today's  Ticket.http://www.irishtimes.com/theticket/