A cellphone now can be your movie ticket

Mobile phone users in Michigan can now bypass movie ticket lines by flashing an on-screen barcode. After purchasing "tickets" from the Movie Box Office (MBO) website, users are sent a weblink via SMS that displays a barcode. Theatre employees then scan the barcode just like any movie ticket. MBO claims that tickets can now be bought, "anytime, anywhere from the palm of your hand."

The service currently only works at the Emagine Canton theatre in Canton Michigan, but MBO hopes to expand the offering to other theatres. Obviously the phone requires a web browser and a color LCD screen to display the barcode. A text message with an embedded "Retrieve Tickets" link is sent after tickets are purchased. MBO admits that some Verizon phones have been crippled from accessing the link, but users can always go directly to the webpage and retrieve their ticket barcodes.

MBO says that in case of a battery failure, ticket purchasers can retrieve their tickets from any phone. If that doesn’t work, the company says you can simply walk up to the ticket counter.

Alternative ticket buying methods have been around for a while. Movietickets.com allows users to buy and print up their own tickets and automated kiosks are available at many of the newer theatres.