The Avengers is currently the holder of the biggest opening weekend of all time at $207 million, but it looks like that’s about to change.

Fandango revealed that they’ve sold out over 2,000 showtimes for Thursday alone for Christopher Nolan’s finale to his Dark Knight Trilogy. Fandango GM Rick Butler said:

Thursday’s ticket sales are incredibly strong, as film fans are flocking to Fandango to guarantee their seats for the film’s opening weekend. The good news is that that theater owners are continually posting new showtimes on Fandango to meet the fan demand, so tickets are still available.

Pre-release numbers are so big that it’s safe to say The Dark Knight Rises will eclipse the $159 million made by The Dark Knight. In fact, it’s almost a certainty that this movie will own the biggest opening weekend of all time. I mean, think about it. Most people love The Dark Knight and there’s been four years of anticipation building and building and building to this moment.

Either way, the anticipation for this movie is damned impressive. Some analysts believe the film will only net about $195 million, mostly because it lacks the 3D element. However, it does have IMAX and the largest IMAX opening of all time with 330 theaters.

One thing is for sure, The Dark Knight Rises has turned into an event film and likely to be a print in the popular culture landscape. [THR]

box office, fandango, the dark knight rises, ticket sales