Design Museum sets new record with Tim Burton show | blooloop

Oct 30, 2024

The Design Museum’s new exhibition on Tim Burton, which opened on Friday, has smashed the institution’s record for advance ticket sales.

Before launch, more than 32,000 people had purchased tickets to ‘The World of Tim Burton’ – making it the biggest advance ticket sales for an exhibition in the Design Museum’s 35-year history.

Tim Marlow, director and CEO of the Design Museum, said: “We’re obviously delighted that our landmark Tim Burton exhibition has already generated cinematic blockbuster levels of interest and excitement before it has even opened.

“It’s a real testament to Tim Burton’s impact on the creative world that his exhibition has driven the biggest pre-sales in our history, by quite some way.”

The show is displaying more than 600 items from Burton’s work and films, including objects from his earliest unrealised projects to his most recent film, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024).

Highlights include hundreds of the director’s expressionistic sketches and drawings, as well as props, set designs and costumes from films like Beetlejuice (1988), Batman (1989), Edward Scissorhands (1990), and Mars Attacks! (1996).

On view are Jenna Ortega’s viral Wednesday dress, Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman costume from 1992’s Batman Returns, and the striped dress from 1999’s Sleepy Hollow, worn by Christina Ricci.

Burton said: “It’s a strange thing, to put 50 years of art and your life on view for everyone to see, especially when that was never the original purpose.

“In the past, I have resisted having the exhibition in London, however, collaborating with the Design Museum for this final stop was the right choice.

“They understand the art, and with the opportunity to adapt the show and highlight the way design interacts with the works, I’ve been able to view it all through an exciting new lens.”

The World of Tim Burton is running until 21 April 2025. Due to demand, it will be open late on Friday and Saturday evenings for the rest of this year.

Lead image credit: Matt Crossick / PA Media Assignments

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