Crowd Report: "Starsky & Hutch"

This was my third viewing of this movie even though it was just opening night, as I had first seen Starsky & Hutch in September, and again last Monday in a sneak preview program I attend. Though it?s not a movie I?d normally see three times in theaters (though I did end up seeing Old School three times), I knew this was the type of flick to see in Westwood (LA) with a college crowd.

Since DreamWorks doesn?t have any affiliation with the larger single screen venues in Westwood, Road Trip and Old School were booked at a rather bland multiplex; but even so, the two crowds that I saw Old School with at that theater were very fun. Since Starsky is backed by Warner Bros. and that studio (along with Paramount) owns most of the single screen venues in the area, the movie was booked at the Village theater, which holds 1300 people.

This is the largest venue in the area and it can attract hardcore film buffs or excited moviegoers (in general) depending on the movie. It?s also right across the street from the UCLA campus, so for big movies at a 10:00 show on opening night, you have a pretty good chance of getting one of the rowdiest audiences you will ever get to be with in a theater.

I got to the theater for the 9:50 show at about 9:20 and the line to get in was stretched down the street, in a similar position as the 10:00 line for Once Upon a Time in Mexico. There were probably 200 or so people in line, and by the time the show was let in a little after 9:30, there were probably around 300 people. Though the line looked intimidating (it bent around one corner), the quantity of people didn?t fill the theater up too much for a 1300-seat venue.

As it got closer to 9:50, the balcony (300 seats) was getting crowded and the main floor (1000 seats) was also getting pretty filled. When the lights dimmed, it looked like there were between 800 - 900 people down below and around 150 - 200 people on the balcony. I wasn?t at the 10:00 show for Once Upon a Time in Mexico (the 7:00 was roughly half-filled), but this show was even better attended than Anger Management.

The crowd consisted of 20 - 30 year olds and the gender ratio was pretty evenly split. And with the energy in the room even before the show started, it seemed like this crowd was pumped for the movie. There was some cheering and clapping when the lights dimmed, but after you?ve seen Star Wars or Lord of the Rings here, a response like this is somewhat tame (at the 10:45 p.m. show of Chamber of Secrets, there was hardcore cheering from about everyone in the theater).

The first trailer up was The Punisher, which retrieved a little enthusiasm at the beginning, as I think the audience was ready for something good to result. The trailer then mostly played to silence, and afterwards there were a few cheers, but they were quickly overruled by a barrage of hateful boo?s, which ignited the audience in laughter.

The next ad was Mean Girls, which played to silence, and afterwards the audience gave in to another round of booing.

White Chicks followed, which played humbly at first until the preview got a decent distance, and then it started gradually winning over parts of the crowd. By the final stages of the ad, the audience was eating it up (supportively), and it even got a light applause and some cheers afterwards. This was the most well received trailer of the bunch by far, and the reaction reminded me a little of when Scary Movie 3?s ad ruled the crowd at Kill Bill here on its second night out.

The Whole Ten Yards was next, which played to silence, but I don?t remember if there was any booing afterwards.

Taking Lives finished up the trailer lineup, which also retrieved a humble reaction.

For some reason it seems that whenever a film is shown in digital projection at this theater, the sound is restrained. The Village is known for its killer sound system, and with a specific THX display (?Let?s?see?it?in?THX? mode) where the sound gradually builds until it explodes loud as hell, it will shake the theater, making some crowds ignite with hardcore cheering and applause.

I?ve never seen that mode when there?s digital projection (nor have I seen it in a while), but even so, the sound was somewhat tame (and we had digital). I sometimes wonder if I am the only one who cares about (or notices) these sound details, but some people were evidently on the same page, as I heard some folks around me wanting the sound louder. Sometimes people will yell, ?Turn it up!? after the THX, but that?s usually just for fun once the room has exploded with sound. The THX did get cheers, but there probably would?ve been a large response had the sound been loud.

People seemed to be delighted by the opening tune of Starsky & Hutch, and I heard some giggles as the studio logos were loading. Vince Vaughn retrieved a few chuckles at first sight, but responses were tame until Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson showed up; Stiller got laughs immediately with his goofy physical humor, and likewise with Wilson?s freeze-frame moment.

The movie was easily winning over the crowd, as there was a consistency of laughs and chuckles throughout the show. In particular, the first shot of Will Ferrell sparked a bit of cheering and a light applause even went up. His demands of Wilson had the audience laughing pretty hard, but the end result of that scene got the biggest laugh reaction of that segment. The movie also got a solid applause when it ended and most people were coming out pretty thrilled.

As for an opening night projection, my guess is between either $8 - 9 million, or $11.5 - 13.5 million. The second time I saw the flick I got somewhat of a Rush Hour-like vibe, but wasn?t confident enough with that; I?m willing to risk it on some movies, but this seemed like it could go either way (a weekend in the low-$20?s or low-$30?s). The 7:00 show for Once Upon a Time? wasn?t this crowded, but The Last Samurai?s 10:00 show may have been close to this attendance.

Rush Hour did play here, but I saw it elsewhere; however, I did hear that its 10:00 show was packed. The Village was more crowded than I?ve seen it in recent time for something like this; it could be the location (being biased due to UCLA), but Westwood is generally very accurate. Sometimes this theater can be a tricky source, as the line for Mexico?s 10:00 show mirrored that of Anger Management; Eyes Wide Shut had sold out the entire night (usually signaling a $7000ish per-screen average), and Kill Bill sold out the 10:00 show with only an $8 million gross.

Neither Anger Management nor Daredevil sold out (they were crowded), but Daredevil was better attended of the two. For 50 First Dates, I had suspected that there were only 250 - 300 people in the theater, and that didn?t end up translating at the box office (I estimated $4.5/5 million). I didn?t get a solid look of the main floor, but there were only 30 - 40 people on the balcony.

When Starsky & Hutch let out, there were a decent number of people buying tickets for the midnight show, and there was a small line of about 100 - 150 people to get in. I heard that Kill Bill?s line for the 12:45 a.m. show snaked around the corner, but from what I?ve seen in Westwood in general, few movies have lines at midnight.

http://www.leesmovieinfo.net/images1/Fox3.jpg (balcony view of theater)

http://www.leesmovieinfo.net/images1/Fox4.jpg (main level, from Bowfinger)