Fandango to send an ‘Interstellar’ ticket-buyer to edge of space

Studios are always looking for new ways to get people to cinemas, but this promotion is in another solar system.

As part of a campaign that takes film marketing to an astronomical level, people who buy tickets on Fandango for director Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar� will be entered into a sweepstakes to win a trip to the edge of space.

The proposed flight comes courtesy of XCOR Aerospace, a Mojave, Calif.-based company that makes commercial spacecraft.

XCOR’s Lynx Mark II, an craft that resembles a regular plane, depends on reusable rocket technology to take a pilot and a passenger (or payload) on half-hour suborbital flights to heights of 62 miles.

Astronaut Rick Seafross is set to pilot the craft, with the winning ticket buyer in the seat next to him.

The sweepstakes is the result of a partnership between Paramount Pictures (which is releasing “Interstellar�), Vice Media’s Motherboard channel and Fandango.

The movie stars Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain and is to be released in some theaters on Nov. 5 followed by a Nov. 7 wide launch.

XCOR, founded in 1999, typically charges about $100,000 for flight tickets. According to spokesman Bryan Campen, the company has sold about 300.

However, the winner of the “Interstellar� contest may not be fitting their space gear right away. Lynx’s test-flight program is expected to start at the beginning of next year.

Adam Rockmore, Fandango’s head of marketing, said the prize flight could take place as soon as 2016 or 2017. “It’s not immediately, but it’s definitely real,� he said.

The prize package also includes simulator training and lodging in Mojave, along with travel to and from the spaceport.

In the event that the winner doesn’t want to take the flight -- perhaps having seen enough lost-in-space films -- he or she won’t leave empty-handed: There will be a prize of $75,000.

Follow Ryan Faughnder on Twitter for more entertainment business coverage: @rfaughnder