21.   Green said advance sales have climbed all week.

22.   Much of the financing will come from advance sales of screening rights, distribution partnerships, loans, or coproduction agreements.

23.   On Thursday, the Labor Department reports on weekly jobless claims, while the Commerce Department simultaneously issues figures on advance retail sales during August.

24.   Partly offsetting the higher costs, advance ticket sales are higher than last fall, Crandall told securities analysts at a meeting in New York.

25.   Paul Dergarabedian, president of the Exhibitor Relations Co. tracking service, said theater chains will welcome the decision to allow advance sales.

26.   Philip Smith, the president of the Shubert Organization, also tried to put a positive spin on the state of advance sales.

27.   Shapiro noted that the strong advance sales of the catalog by museum members was another good sign.

28.   Sherak conceded Monday that the issue remains unresolved since Fox cannot force theaters to ban advance sales.

29.   The first to hit store shelves will be the Christmas ornaments, and some stores already are advertising advance sales.

30.   The executive conceded two weeks ago that Fox could not force theaters to ban advance sales.