Magic Mike: Fandango Pre-Sales Pulling in the Dollar Bills

“Magic Mike”, in case you haven’t heard, stars cinematic heartthrobs Matthew McConaughey and Channing Tatum, the latter of whom appears in various stages of undress throughout the entire movie. That’s what female movie-goers are hoping for, anyway. If ticket pre-sales on Fandango are any indication, “Ocean’s Eleven” director Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming male stripper flick could be one of the sleeper hits of the summer. After all, one should never underestimate the spending power of the undersexed American female. Or male. I don’t discriminate.

According to Fandango, ticket sales for “Magic Mike” account for 36 percent of all transactions, besting the latest family-oriented Disney-Pixar flick “Brave”. As the Editor-in-Chief for the popular ticket slinging website explained, “‘Brave’ is for the girls, ‘Magic Mike’ is for the ladies.”

Female-oriented fare, particularly when sex or scantily-clad men are involved, is often a license to print money in Hollywood. The first “Sex and the City” film, for example, went on to make a tidy $418 million worldwide. The sequel, well, not so much, but the franchise had pretty much burned itself out by the time the follow-up rolled into theaters.

Although studio estimates put the film’s ticket sales at around the $25 million mark, the flick is gaining steam at a fairly rapid pace. Social media awareness is on the rise, as well; the film’s Facebook page is currently enjoying over 300,000 likes, while visibility on Twitter continues to grow. The only thing working against the film at this point are the number of other features opening this weekend. Seth MacFarlane’s “Ted” and “Tyler Perry’s Witness Protection” will be vying for those entertainment dollars, as well.

If you’re curious to know what folks on the micro-blogging site are saying about the upcoming male stripper flick, take a peek at the Twitter reactions below. Wash your hands afterwards.