Midnight and Advance shows/releases

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

Oh, of course. A nice theatre is nice. But it is just as nice for regular showings as it is for midnight showings, is all I'm sayin'.

I'm not disagreeing.

Not too far from where I live, there's a theatre that served decent food, and has seats taken from Lincoln Town Cars, I think. Quite comfortable. You get the drive-in movie feel, with much better audio.

I've never been to a drive-in, so I'm not sure what that experience is like, but the theater I go to has extra large seats that are very comfortable. After sitting there, I just can't go back to the regular theater seats. They feel extremely uncomfortable and stiff.

Depends on the movie, and some other factors, I suppose. If I have to be up for work the next morning, I'd probably pass. If it is a weekend occasion with a bunch of friends for what we expect is a really good movie, I might stay up for it. If it is, say, one of the screenings for the current tour of The Last Unicorn, which are exceedingly rare, I probably would do the late show.

I mean, a typical movie ticket is like $10. Not a huge cost. Not losing that much if I pass on it, for just a basic showing of a movie.

What if it was a showing of Batman & Robin, but at the end they gave you, and one guest, a private screening at the theater of your choice for The Last Unicorn?

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

I watched the first Lord of the Rings movie at a midnight/advance screening. I had avoided any of the trailers or other spoilers so I could appreciate it better and the whole experience was really worth it.

Would I do something like that again? Probably not. I don't think I have ever been as excited before or since for another film. But on the off chance that something came along like that again, yes, I would definitely do it.

 

[Deset Gled]

I've been to a couple release events. For me, they were as much about the social aspect of the fandom as about enjoying the show/event.

The midnight release is an excuse to be with people who are into the same stuff you are. People dress up. You meet new people while you're waiting. You go with friends that have similar interests. And during a movie, you get to enjoy the crowd's reactions of laughs, gasps, and applause at appropriate times.

A first/early release event is essentially a mini-convention. You go out of your way to get there, spend more money that you probably need to, and occasionally meet some weirdos, but overall it's a fun social experience with like-minded people.

 

[trappedslider]

I've been to a couple release events. For me, they were as much about the social aspect of the fandom as about enjoying the show/event.

The midnight release is an excuse to be with people who are into the same stuff you are. People dress up. You meet new people while you're waiting. You go with friends that have similar interests. And during a movie, you get to enjoy the crowd's reactions of laughs, gasps, and applause at appropriate times.

A first/early release event is essentially a mini-convention. You go out of your way to get there, spend more money that you probably need to, and occasionally meet some weirdos, but overall it's a fun social experience with like-minded people.

The only time I can recall seeing people dressed up was for the Harry Potter movies and books

EDIT: not counting the time i wore my iron man 2 light up shirt to Iron man 3

 

[Umbran]

What if it was a showing of Batman & Robin, but at the end they gave you, and one guest, a private screening at the theater of your choice for The Last Unicorn?

Now we're getting so hypothetical that we might as well start with, "What if there's lava, and $1 million dollars..."

That being said, Batman & Robin was by no means the worst thing I've ever seen. I can enjoy time snarking at it, if nothing else.

A first/early release event is essentially a mini-convention. You go out of your way to get there, spend more money that you probably need to, and occasionally meet some weirdos, but overall it's a fun social experience with like-minded people.

Oh, I understand it in theory. I've done the cosplay for movie thing (Pirates of the Caribbean with a bunch of friends on a lark opening weekend) and going with a herd of like-minded people (Serenity - advanced showing, not at midnight), just not for midnight showings. I also go to some of our local cons. The midnight-movie doesn't have enough of what I want from a con to make that angle work for me.

YMMV, of course!

 

[delericho]

I went to midnight showings of "Attack of the Clones" and the first "Spider-Man". And I've been to quite a lot of "advanced screenings" but I'm not sure they count - it seems many films say they're having "advance screenings" when, really, they're just opening on a Wednesday (as opposed to a whole bunch of other films that actually open on a Wednesday).

I doubt I'd bother with a midnight screening ever again, for three reasons: I actually prefer going when the cinema's quiet, I would probably prefer to go to bed and instead go the next day, and these days I usually go on Tuesdays when it's cheap - cinema prices seem to have risen sharply in the last five years, to the point where most movies just aren't worth going to see, especially at full price. (When I can just wait four months and buy the blu-ray for less than the cost of one ticket, never mind two, it's really hard to justify bothering with that ticket.)

 

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

Now we're getting so hypothetical that we might as well start with, "What if there's lava, and $1 million dollars..."

Alright... there's lava, one million dollars, and you have to sit through 12 hours of listening to Alex Jones. Would you do it?

That being said, Batman & Robin was by no means the worst thing I've ever seen. I can enjoy time snarking at it, if nothing else.

So is tat a 'yes' or a 'no'?

 

[NewJeffCT]

First time I remember doing it was for the Michael Keaton/Jack Nicholson version of "Batman" which was what, 1989 or so? I don't even remember many movies before that having a midnight showing on a Thursday before opening on a Friday.

That was fun.

A few years back, I challenged my daughter that if she finished reading the Harry Potter series before the last movie came out, I'd take her to the midnight show of the last movie, and she finished the books, so i took her to the movie.