Avengers: Endgame breaks the internet (literally) with pre-sale tickets

So many fans rushed to get their Avengers: Endgame tickets on April 2 that they broke a major sales record — and the internet.

Tickets for the long-anticipated Avengers: Endgame movie went on sale yesterday morning. Even those who had their credit cards and apps at the ready the moment pre-sales went live had to wait for their purchases to go through.

That’s how many hardcore (and let’s be honest, even plenty casual) Marvel Cinematic Universe fans rushed to get their opening day seats.

This isn’t your typical Marvel movie mad rush. This is the endgame, the Thanos “boss battle” we’ve all been waiting for. Major heroes (probably Steve Rogers, definitely Tony Stark) aren’t going to make it out alive. Dead pools are happening, including our own right here. This is a big deal. Ticket purchases simply cannot wait.

Such a large number of fans bought their tickets the first few hours of the sale, in fact, that the movie actually broke a record its first day of ticket pre-sales. Avengers: Endgame is now the leader in all-time Fandango ticket pre-sales. And it accomplished this grand feat in just six hours.

The record was previously held by Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the seventh major film in the franchise and the first released under its new parent company, Disney.

Both films broke pre-sales records for pretty big reasons. The Force Awakens would define a new era in the Star Wars saga and was the first to be released after a 10-year gap in films set in a galaxy far, far away. Avengers: Endgame, rather than marking a new beginning in a popular franchise, signifies a major ending and turning point in an overarching story that has now spanned over a decade.

Regardless, anticipation is anticipation — and yesterday, excitement over the film had an unexpected consequence. The internet, quite literally, couldn’t handle it.

Multiple websites and their respective apps, including major sellers like AMC and Fandango, crashed under the pressure. So many fans flooded these servers with their intended movie ticket purchases that it took AMC until this morning to get things up and running again.

Thankfully, if you were one of the unlucky many who couldn’t get your tickets yesterday, you should be able to get them now.

You may not be able to see the movie at the theater, day, or time you hoped for (I live in a small town and still scored a 6 p.m. showing on April 25 despite being late to the party — SORRY). But don’t worry. You’ll still get a good three-hour cry in. Eventually.

Get your tickets now and keep those Fandango pre-sales up! Avengers: Endgame releases in theaters nationwide on April 25.