Midnight Showings

A subject on my mind this month is the special advance midnight showings authorized by movie studios for potential blockbusters, especially for franchise films.

This entry is a follow-up, of sorts, to my previous entry, "Return of the Summer Blockbusters," posted Friday, May 1, 2009, which includes more information on terms and concepts, such as "franchise films," covered in this entry.

If a midnight showing has potential to attract a large audience, then movie studios will authorize cinemas (movie theatres) to have a special advance midnight showing the night before the movie's official nationwide release date. Technically, the showing is supposed to begin at 12:01 a.m. on the movie's opening day.

Most recently, cinemas showing X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009, PG-13, 107 min.), the fourth entry in the popular movie franchise that began with X-Men (2000, PG-13, 104 min.), scheduled a special advance showing on Thursday, April 30, at midnight, ("officially" on the movie's nationwide release date, Friday, May 1, at 12:01 a.m.).

The same will happen with several other May 2009 releases, including Angels & Demons (2009, PG-13, 140 min.), sequel to The Da Vinci Code (2006, PG-13, 149 min.), and Terminator Salvation, the fourth movie in the popular franchise that began with The Terminator (1984, R, 107 min.).

Cinemas aren't obligated to have midnight showings. If cinema owners think the financial gains aren't going to warrant staying open so late, they may opt not to have a showing. For example, the Great Lakes Cinema 7 (GLC7) in Okoboji, owned and operated by CineMagic Theatres, www.cinemagictheatres.com, has not advertised a midnight showing for Angels & Demons while the Southpark 7 Theatres (S7T) in the Southpark Mall in Spencer, owned and operated by Fridley Theatres, www.fridleytheatres.com is having one. Because of regional loyalty, I attend most midnight showings at the GLC7; however, if they're not offering one and the S7T is, then I'll drive down to Spencer, which is what I plan to do for Angels & Demons.

More than any other movie scheduled for release in 2009, I was most eager for Star Trek, a "reboot" of the classic TV and movie franchise that began with the original series, "Star Trek" (1966-1969). I attended the first showing at the GLC7, I enjoyed the movie immensely, and it's the subject of my next "Down in Front: At the Movies with F. Joseph Wilson" column, tentatively to be published in the next issue of Dickinson County News, Wednesday, May 13, 2009.

There was, however, one major disappointment related to the new Star Trek movie: No special advance midnight showing.

In 2007, Paramount Pictures originally announced Star Trek for a US release on Christmas, December 25, 2008. Later, in February 2008, Paramount rescheduled the release date to Friday, May 8, 2009. Moviegoers in most markets would have been able to attend special midnight showings on Thursday, May 7. Last month, however, Paramount announced another change, rescheduling the release date yet again from May 8 to Thursday, May 7, and ruling out the possibility of special midnight showings on Wednesday, May 6. What a disappointment!

What is it about special advance midnight showings that make them so appealing to some movie fans such as myself?

Any casual moviegoer can attend the usual afternoon matinees and evening showings, but only the most dedicated moviegoers will stay up for a midnight showing. Those who attend are usually the most loyal fans of that particular movie franchise and the most enthusiastic audience members. For example, a Star Trek movie attracts Star Trek fans, a.k.a. Trekkies or, as some prefer to be called, Trekkers.

For midnight showings, many of the members are the audience are as enthusiastic about the new movie as I am. In the cases of some franchises, some of them are even more ecstatic than I am. Like me, these midnight moviegoers tend to be familiar with the movies that have come before and other source materials, such as novels, comic books or TV shows. They catch most of the references, and they get most of the "in jokes." They laugh at the humor, they gasp at the thrills, and they cheer at the heroics.

Even though I've never met a vast majority of my fellow midnight moviegoers, and I don't know most of them personally, these are the people I enjoy sharing a movie with. These are the people who appreciate movies the most. And if they don't appreciate movies in general, at least they're into that specific movie.

In short, they're the most fun audiences with whom to attend the first showing of a new movie.

Just like midnight moviegoers, midnight showings are more fun, and they make the first viewing of a new movie more special than during the usual afternoon and evening showtimes. For a movie fanatic like me, midnight showings are worth staying up late for, even if I'm going to be tired all the following day.