How huge is huge? Try 70 percent for MovieTickes.com and 87 percent for Fandango. Furthermore, Fandango says that pre-order sales are eclipsing those of Star Trek -- which is impressive, considering Trek had a built-in following based on its previous incarnations.
More interesting Avatar pre-order stats:
75 percent - 89 percent of all ticket sales are for the 3D or IMAX 3D screenings
Hundreds of screenings are sold-out across the U.S., according to both Fandango and MovieTickets.com
68 percent - 78 percent of the ticket buyers are male
37 percent of men surveyed said they will be bringing a date
In November, The Twilight Saga: New Moon dominated online ticket sales and actually broke Fandango's all-time record. The positive buzz, heavy male audience and increased price of 3D tickets might push Avatar above even that mark.
As a studio, Fox has engaged in various social media campaigns to promote Avatar -- including creating an augmented reality trailer, hosting a Facebook live chat with the cast and crew and showing the red carpet premiere via Ustream.
We'll have to wait for the weekend box office numbers to roll in to see how well that campaign paid off.