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Fandango pulls a Ticketmaster with plans to buy MovieTickets.com

Atom Tickets may be the last competitor standing.

Who doesn't love grabbing movie tickets from their mobile device before heading to the theater, skipping the long lines at the box office? No one, that's who. Now there's one less outlet to do so with, as Fandango continues to consolidate advance movie ticket sales with plans to acquire MovieTickets.com. According to Deadline, this leaves Atom Tickets as one of the only other competitors in the space, bringing Fandango closer to a Ticketmaster-style monopoly. The deal itself is set to close in the latter part of this year.

The deal will add more US coverage to the Fandango stable of movie theaters, including National Amusements, Cineplex, Landmark Theatres and Marquee Cinemas. Fandango will also get a bigger hold in Latin America, while entering Canada and the UK for the first time. MovieTickets.com will continue to operate from its Boca-Raton, Florida headquarters.

"MovieTickets.com has done a terrific job, building a popular and trusted brand with millions of loyal customers and hundreds of exhibitors, and has been a champion of serving theater circuits large and small for nearly two decades," said Fandango's Paul Yanover in a statement. "We look forward to sharing an array of mobile and social media innovations with their customer base to enhance the movie discovery, planning and ticket buying experience."