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Arriving at the theater
at about 10:00 for the 10:50 pm show
(opening night), a
line was already around one corner of the
mall, but only slightly (probably 100
people in total). The whole situation was
a lot like that of Bruce Almighty on
opening night, as I coincidentally saw
that at this theater as well at 10:15. The
crowd was mostly made up of 17 - 21 year
olds, which was more or less the
demographic breakdown at Bruce.
After the line let in
at 10:20, the 400-some seat auditorium
quickly got packed, but I'm not sure when
it sold out (it may have already been when
I got there). The lights dimmed to some
excitement, but no major reaction.
First trailer up was
SWAT, which drew a little enthusiasm, but
nothing over the top.
Second up was The
Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake. I do have
to say that when I first heard they were
remaking the film (which is one of my all
time favorite horror films), I was
extremely doubtful they'd make a good
movie. After seeing the teaser online a
day before this trailer placement, I admit
that it could actually work.
The teaser took the
audience by surprise for a little while,
as no one was quite sure what this was;
silence filled the room for most of its
screen time as folks started to really
tune in. Near the end of the teaser I
could've sworn Blair Witch was on
everyone's mind (which can be a good or
bad thing), but once the title hit the
screen, rave reactions went into the air
as a full applause set off with quite a
bit of cheering.
Let me note that
it's been a long time since I've seen a
multiplex crowd respond so cheerfully to
something (trailer wise). Then again, the Freddy Vs.
Jason teaser withdrew quite a reception at
28 Days Later (people were already
cheering at the load-up), which I also saw
at this theater; other than that, it's
usually the big theaters that get those
responses.
The Rundown's
trailer followed, which amused the crowd.
Cabin Fever was
next, which withdrew a lot of sarcastic
remarks and laughter due to the sarcasm.
Then there was
Underworld, which surprisingly retrieved
enthusiasm, but nothing like Texas
Chainsaw.
Second to last was
Tomb Raider 2, which had a few cheers
going in the air at the start, followed by
a quiet response once it
concluded. Some people (including myself)
did boo.
The Whole Ten Yards
wrapped up the long list of previews,
which had the crowd lightly giggling at parts, but
no real strong reception. Am I the only
one who thinks of Analyze That when I
watch this trailer?
Once the feature
presentation tagline came up, anticipated
cheers went up, followed by much of the
same reaction when Will Smith and Martin
Lawrence first appear. A few applauses did
sound off throughout the duration, but the
biggest response came from the scene
involving the daughter-dating scenario.
Due to intense crowd laughter and
consistent clapping, it was even hard to
keep up with the dialogue in that bit
(kind of like some of the scenes in
There's Something About Mary).
Once the film ended,
a nice applause went up, but barely anyone
stayed for the during-the-credits footage
(nor did I). Overall, the crowd seemed to
really enjoy the flick.
Considering I've
failed to nail one box office prediction
based upon the crowd reports lately, I'm
not sure what my chances are here. But I
do have to note the similarities in crowd
size from opening night of Bruce Almighty.
I'm not entirely counting on a $20 million
first day, but anything between $16 - 19
million could be in order. |
