Fandango Mobile Ticketing Begins This Weekend

Many airlines have already done away with paper tickets and now one of the largest sellers of movie tickets is finally making the digital leap. After almost two years of development and smaller test runs, Fandango's Mobile Ticket initiative begins its major roll out this weekend at select Regal Cinemas with the release of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1. People who buy tickets online (not just for Twilight, for any movie) can have a message sent to their phone with a barcode that theaters scan, allowing people to skip lines at ticket booths and kiosks. Find out which theaters are first adopting this after the jump.

The full theater list, which can be viewed by clicking here, features theaters in Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Honolulu, Knoxville, Tenn., Lexington, Ky., Los Angeles, Nashville, Tenn., New York, Philadelphia, Portland, Ore., San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle.

What's interesting, though, is that the press release says any phone with a screen can use this feature. It doesn't necessarily have to be a smart phone. So even your mom with her crappy flip can do this if she likes.

Mobile ticketing is far from an innovative practice. In addition to the airlines, I know the Arclight Cinemas in Los Angeles has been doing this for a while, plus Fandango has been using the service in some theaters for over a year. This just happens to be the widest it's ever been adopted. Personally, while I understand the convenience of the service, the seconds it saves once you get to the theater will probably be lost by incompetent ticket takers. Plus I always like to have a paper back up in case my phone craps out. That's just me though.

If you try this service out this weekend, let us know how it works.