This is topic Star Wars Episode 2: Midnight shows or not? in forum Ground Level at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.
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Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 05-06-2002, 07:06 PM:
Many theaters had midnight shows for Star Wars Episode 1 when it opened 5/19/1999. However, some of those theaters will not have midnight shows when Episode 2 opens 5/16/2002. Why not?After the World Trade Center went down many malls and theaters put additional security measures into place. These venues see a midnight opening of Episode 2 as an inviting target for an attack -- and not of any clones.
The AMC Bridgewater Commons 7 had a midnight show for Episode 1 (as a GCC) but will not have a midnight show for Episode 2. Any other theaters in a similar situation?
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 05-06-2002, 07:59 PM:
That's just stupid reasoning for not running midnight shows. If terrorists are going to go after a theater, they will do it on the evening round opening night of Episode II. That way they can kill more people that are watching other movies as well as the lines waiting to get into the 10:00 round.
Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 05-06-2002, 08:11 PM:
I don't quite understand the logic either. Grauman's Chinese is prominently advertising a midnight show of Ep2 and that's about as high-profile a public location as any.
Posted by Joe Beres (Member # 678) on 05-06-2002, 08:21 PM:
I think many of the theaters will have midnight shows this time around again. There is way too much money to be made for the majority to pass them up. I agree with Brad that if terrorists wanted to get a theater, they would do it on a Friday evening when many theaters in a multiplex are crowded.
Posted by Paul Konen (Member # 41) on 05-07-2002, 10:05 AM:
My theatre will run midnight shows for however many prints we receive. (This point is still up in the air.) 
Don't even know how the DLP is going to settle out because of Foxs' demands on placements.
Paul.
Posted by John T. Hendrickson, Jr (Member # 849) on 05-07-2002, 01:09 PM:
I just got the word that we will have midnight shows. We are booking three prints, so it should be interesting to see what developes, since we hadn't opened when EP I came out. And, yes, we are in a mall.
Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 05-07-2002, 01:22 PM:
We will have late shows (against my will) for EP2. I've not heard the public interest to support such shows, but hey, what do I know.... I'm the same one who thought Spidy would do so-so at the box office... LOL.
We are not even officially slated to open a SINGLE print yet due to ludicrous terms. Hopefully, I'll know more later as to which direction we take. Personally, I say we balk his/their terms and skip the print. Then again, what do I know?------------------
The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese!
Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 05-07-2002, 02:20 PM:
Some Central Ohio theatres are advertising tickets on sale for 12:01 shows. AMC hasn't weighed in yet.
Posted by Gracia L. Babbidge (Member # 582) on 05-07-2002, 03:27 PM:
I've been told that I will be running a 12:01ish AM show of Attack of the Clones on 5/16. Which is fine with me, provided that both of my prints show up on Tuesday, and can be built & screened before they're shown to the public. It's not that I am concerned about making any 'mistakes' while I build the prints, my concern would be that I'd end up cussing out someone on the "management team" (as I was tempted to do when I was building three prints of Harry Potter). Whenever there is an issue of having a print ready by a certain time, there is one person at my theater (who, by the way, knows very little about the booth 
), that seems to feel that it is their duty to constantly invade my work enviroment and check on where I am in the whole process, and proceed to tell me what I ought to be doing. 
...I work better without such misguided interruptions!...Maybe I'll just stuff a film can full of trailers, and keep it handy to drop on the toes of anyone who tries to interfere... 
Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 05-07-2002, 04:04 PM:
Gracia,
Rest assured that the depots will be delivering all prints for Thursday openers on WED. regardless of the fact that the late show(s) that may be held. They don't seem to care about build quality and I often wonder if they think the magic build-up fairy just "makes it all better"....------------------
The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese!
Posted by Paul Konen (Member # 41) on 05-07-2002, 04:42 PM:
I remember that EP1 prints came in on Monday for the Thursday? release.
Posted by Jonathan M. Crist (Member # 413) on 05-07-2002, 05:07 PM:
Why would any theatre owner voluntarily run any extra shows the first week of something? All you do is make it more likely you will hit the 90/10 figure and thus pay even more film rental on the whole weeks's engagement to the film distributor.
Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 05-07-2002, 06:03 PM:
Episode1 opened on a Wednesday. According to the service that delivers our prints, they will be coming sometime on tuesday night.
Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 05-07-2002, 06:38 PM:
Oh yea...a midnight show. I could get some sleep during that.
Mark
Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 05-08-2002, 12:08 AM:
We will be running midnights.
Posted by Lance C. McFetridge (Member # 95) on 05-08-2002, 02:42 PM:
We are doing a midnight, but only one this time around. episode 1 faded quickly for the midnight shows.
lance
Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 05-09-2002, 12:46 AM:
Everyone's running midnight shows (actually 12:01 am). My freaking problem is that my competition may run 24 hour shows!!!!!!!!Damn the Century Orleans!!!!!
Ahhhhhhhhh!!
Posted by Kyle Caudill (Member # 1252) on 05-09-2002, 09:49 AM:
24 Hours????Who the????What the????Why the????Who could you get to work at 4am. Most of my staff is High Schoolers and I have been told majority of theatre staffs are. State laws in KY would prevent them from working man of the hours needed to fullfill a 24 hour show schedule and I know most states have similiar laws, plus dealing with the parents.
Posted by Chad Souder (Member # 343) on 05-09-2002, 10:02 AM:
I think the reduced midnight show may have to do with the crazy Thursday opening while school's still in session. Of course for EP 1 it was a Wed. during school, but at our theatre we sold out the midnight shows, then didn't sell out any more after that, even during the weekend.------------------
"Asleep at the switch? I wasn't asleep, I was drunk!" - Homer Simpson
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 05-09-2002, 10:07 AM:
The World Premiere of Star Wars Episode 2 will be at Robert Dinero's TriBeca Film Center on Sunday Night, here in New York. They are running a film festival this week Wednesday through Sunday. Proceeds from the festival will go to help redevelopement of the WTC area which is only a few blocks from the film center.
Posted by Carl King (Member # 398) on 05-09-2002, 01:29 PM:
12:01 a.m. here too. double mats the next day. won't I get
lots of sleep, eh?Dennis, nice Strat
Posted by Jeff Leyland (Member # 1092) on 05-09-2002, 02:21 PM:
I believe 24 hour show schedules are not new to Vegas on big event pictures. If I remember right it began with UA's theatre on the strip when it opened.
Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 05-10-2002, 09:01 AM:
Looks as if I have been selected (unwillingly so) to have a 12:05am show on Thursday am. Why is totally beyond me. I haven't had the phone calls like we had for EP1, schoool is in the following day, it isn't a holiday, the film isn't generating huge buzz as the first one did, and the booking terms just plain suck.
When are the exhibitors going to pull their balls out of their pockets and refuse these ridiculous terms? Lucas need us just lie we need him. It's work together to make us ALL money. I have simply lost all respect for him anymore. Hell, I think he's 100 times worse than Bill Gates. At least my W2K works well... Unlike EP1...
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The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese!
Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 05-10-2002, 11:18 AM:
In the past, Lucas has done plenty to advance the state of the art of film exhibition. But he's hung up on this digital projection thing and must be in some kind of denial over the fact that the technology isn't ready yet. He's blinded by his desire to play with his high-tech video toys and not willing to wait for technology to advance to a point where digital projection is viable.
Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 05-10-2002, 11:44 AM:
AMC (fmr. GCC) will be doing midnight shows, at least in the Boston area. (No idea if I'll be "lucky" enough to run it then...)
Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 05-10-2002, 05:23 PM:
Scott: AMC is doing midnight shows for most (but not all) of its venues that are getting Episode 2.As I emphasized when I started this thread, quite a few theaters are not doing midnight shows on Episode 2.
Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 05-12-2002, 06:05 PM:
Cinemark 17 here has scheduled 3 midnight shows. The first show is sold out. Unintentional humor on their part: The box offices have a printed page in the window with the midnight showtimes. Someone wrote this next to those times in large block letters: THURSDAY MOURNING.From their regular daily schedule it looks like it's in only 3 auditoriums (Spidey is in 4). BUT they are scheduling a 9AM round of shows, at least for the first week. First time I've seen them do that.
Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 05-13-2002, 10:01 PM:
No midnight shows here. I championed the idea for Episode I but not this time. First, we don't exactly have a huge market of die-hard fans. Certainly not after the way Episode I disappointed so many viewers.
Furthermore, the reality is most likely that the movie won't sustain the 8-week minimum...no need to go scheduling extra shows.
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~Manny.
Now...where was I ?
Leonard Shelby, MEMENTO.
Posted by Mike Williams (Member # 1140) on 05-14-2002, 07:32 AM:
The theater I was at when Ep1 came out tried midnight and 1AM shows on opening weekend... that only lasted one weekend.
Posted by Paul Cassidy (Member # 951) on 05-14-2002, 07:55 PM:
Midnignt Screenings throughout NZ tonight ,that's Wednesday 15th here and NO Digital Screens in sight ...... 
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A KIWI eats,roots & Leaves.
Posted by Jeff Akin (Member # 1198) on 05-14-2002, 08:08 PM:
Two of the theatres here in town are doing midnight shows. As for when they will be delivered...it is Tueday at about 6:00pm and they are already built and screened.
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2 Time ICWF Champion
2 Time ICWF Hardcore Champion
Posted by Paul Cassidy (Member # 951) on 05-15-2002, 03:56 AM:
Count Down .....2hours 20min until the first showing of EII in NZ 
Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 05-15-2002, 08:52 AM:
Well, I guess George figures his films are so good he doesn't even need to advertise them. There have been no display ads in the local paper. Trying to find out about midnight showings was like pulling teeth: AMC has it at 2 theatres (in very tiny print that is easy not to see), Marcus has it at both (but only one mentioned in newspaper ad), Regal has it at its only location (and that is the easiest to see in the list), and our local Faux-Cinemark's are not showing at midnight, at least according to the newspaper.George must figure there will be lines everywhere, and he doesn't have to advertise. (Although, there were LOTS of ads for CLONES on WWE RAW on Monday night.)
Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 05-15-2002, 10:31 AM:
No display ads for Ep2 yet here. Spiderman has also had no display ads whatsoever.1 midnight show at Regal, 3 at Cinemark (The Regal has 480 seats though, about twice that of the Cinemark rooms)
Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 05-15-2002, 12:00 PM:
Lucasfilm doesn't need print ads because Big Media pours out reams of ENDLESS ENDLESS HYPE! 
The only print ad I've seen for Star Wars Episode 2 is a half-page stack ad in the Village Voice, a weekly which came out last night in NYC and this morning in New Jersey. The ad pushes the 2 DLP locations in NYC bigtime.
Coincidentally, that ad is side by side with the stack ad for About a Boy -- which opens 5/17.
Also, to update the post that started it all: The AMC Bridgewater Commons gave in and will have a midnight show after all.
Posted by Joe Beres (Member # 678) on 05-15-2002, 08:54 PM:
At least one theater, the Megstar 16 in Maple Grove, MN, is running EpII all night tonight: 12:01am, 3:00am, 3:15am, 6:00am, etc. I think the midnight show will do well, but how many people will trek out to the suburbs at 3am?
Posted by Paul Cassidy (Member # 951) on 05-15-2002, 09:16 PM:
By all reports and reviews on TV this seems to be recieved much better that EPI and it is being shown hourly at the IMAX centre in Queen ST Auckland 24hrs , so from midnight last night it has been screening non stop 
Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 05-16-2002, 01:24 AM:
The EP2 midnight shows topped the 11:00 news here, with live coverage of throngs of fans waiting in line and general Star Wars mayhem. Apparently all 4 midnight shows in SpringGene did sell out.
Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 05-19-2002, 03:32 PM:
So who has the latest start times for the "late show" of SW?The place I was working last night had a 12:35 show, which was the latest in the Boston area. It didn't sell out, but probably brought in 100-150 people or so.
Is anyone doing 1:00am shows?