CORRECTED-Early showings for "300" film draw sell-out crowds

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Corrects "Ghost Rider" opening in 9th paragraph to three weekends ago from two and box-office total to $45.4 million in first three days from $38 million.

By Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The ultra-bloody warrior film "300," about a legendary battle between the Spartans and Persians, seemed headed for U.S. box-office glory on Friday with sell-out crowds flocking to early showings.

Imax, the giant-screen movie chain, reported that all 57 of its 12:01 a.m. Friday screenings of the Warner Bros. film had sold out as its advance ticket sales for the weekend hit a new record for the month of March.

"We had the most amazing night," said Greg Foster, chairman and president of Imax Filmed Entertainment, adding that many Imax cinemas arranged 2:30 a.m. shows at the last minute to accommodate fans who failed to get into the midnight showings.

Many of the rest of the nation’s 600 cinemas with early morning shows also played to capacity crowds, said Dan Fellman, domestic distribution president for the Time Warner-owned studio.

"They were flocking everywhere, not just to Imax," he told Reuters.

While overnight business accounted for a fraction of the more than 3,100 North American cinemas where "300" was opening on Friday, the early surge at the multiplex was a strong indicator that the .....continued below

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Some box-office analysts predicted "300" could finish the weekend in the $50 million (26 million pound) range, an impressive achievement for a March opening given the film’s "R" rating and lack of stars.

Seeking to squelch inflated expectations, Fellman said a weekend gross in the mid-$30 million range was "a more accurate estimate of where things are going to go."

SOLD OUT

Still, leading online ticket seller Fandango reported "300" was selling at twice the rate of a previously unexpected box-office hit, "Ghost Rider," which opened three weekends ago with $45.4 million in its first three days.

With no other major film releases this weekend, Fandango said 94 percent of its business was going to "300" with hundreds of screenings selling out. "Exhibitors are continually adding show times," Fandango spokesman Harry Medved said.

The record sum for a March opening is currently held by the computer-animated family film "Ice Age: The Meltdown," which grossed $68 million in its first weekend last year. The original "Ice Age" is No. 2 with $46 million in 2002.

"300" has received mixed reviews -- New York Times critic A.O. Scott called it "about as violent as ’Apocalypto’ and twice as stupid" -- but has benefited from an aggressive Internet-based promotional campaign appealing to a younger, tech-focused crowd.

The hyper-stylised film, based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller about the ancient battle at Thermopylae in 480 B.C., was shot using actors staging combat scenes against blue screens on which the background and special effects are superimposed via computer graphics.

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