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‘Night at the Museum’ sequel a midnight movie? Really?
Midnight screenings show up all the time during the summer movie season. They’re a great way for audiences to be able to say, “I saw it early” - and for studios to goose their box office numbers a little.
But I was genuinely surprised when I scanned the showtimes for this weekend and found that Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian will get a midnight screening at the Regal Theater in Beavercreek on Thursday going into Friday.
OK, I know the title of the movie is NIGHT at the Museum, and I suppose you could be cute if you wanted and call your screening “Midnight at the Museum” (rim shot). But this is the first time I’ve really scratched my head at a midnight movie selection.
Usually midnight screenings are reserved for movies with heavy fanboy appeal like Wolverine and Terminator Salvation. Even a midnight screening for the new Harry Potter movie would make sense, since that has a large enough fanbase of adults.
But the Night at the Museum sequel? Seriously? I have no doubt the movie will be very popular. It might even beat Terminator Salvation to take the lead at the box office this weekend. However, Night at the Museum appeals mostly to families. What parents are going to take their kids to this screening, especially on a school night?
The only reason I can think of to justify the screening is for Amy Adams fans to get their fix early. Where I get such a notion I have no idea. (Sarcasm off). For the record, I won’t be reviewing that immediately because I’m critiquing Terminator Salvation this week.
As it happens, there’s also a midnight screening of Dance Flick, and I don’t understand that either. Actually, I don’t see why anyone would want to see that period, but that’s just me.
But tell me: What do you think of midnight screenings for movies like Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian or Dance Flick? Have you ever been to a midnight screening? Tell me some anecdotes.
Permalink | Comments (6) | Post your comment | Categories: Coming Attractions
Comments
By Kim
May 21, 2009 10:25 AM | Link to this
That does seem odd! Go fig. I haven’t technically ever gone to a midnight screening in the sense that I went to see a single movie debut at midnight, but I have watched near midnight movies at the drive-in several times. A couple times last year I even pulled an all-nighter, watching all 3 movies and getting home around 5 am. Movie bliss - ha!By Jeremy
May 20, 2009 1:27 PM | Link to this
I used to work at a movie theater so we could go to employee screenings when the projectionists had to watch the films to make sure they worked alright. Sometimes they’d be a day or two before release, but always after hours. I think I saw the second and third Lord of the Rings, Terminator 3, and a few others before release late night and never got home before 3am as a result. I can’t say I would ever go to a midnight screening if I had to pay though, having to work early on Fridays. There was always something cool about seeing a movie before it came out though, but midnight on release day is pushing it for me. I think it is cool to have for films that have a die hard following, if it will get the sales then it wouldn’t make sense to not have the screening. With that being said I dont think Night at the Museum 2 warrants a midnight release. Looking forward to it [just watched the first last night from netflix] but not that much. Probably will wait for DVD or cheap theater at best.By SRCputt
May 19, 2009 7:57 PM | Link to this
I just figured the studio had done the research and wanted to make the film available for the 732 adults nationwide who are absolutely dying to see A Night at the Museum II. I know when I will see it: first matinee on Saturday, because my nine-year-old is dying to see it. (He keeps imitating the statue in the ads: “Firepower!”)By Alice
May 19, 2009 4:16 PM | Link to this
Allie: You made it further than me on Zombie’s Halloween. A HUGE fan of the original, I left after five minutes when I found out that Dr. Loomis had been turned into a dirty psycho hippie, which is basically what happened to all the other characters.By Movie buff
May 19, 2009 1:52 PM | Link to this
Am showing my age, but the last midnight movie i went to was after a Middletown Lyric Theatre show on Halloween years ago. The movie was Young Frankenstein, and we were all a bit tiddled. It was at the Studio theatre on Central Ave.By Allie D.
May 19, 2009 11:36 AM | Link to this
I’ve been to numerous midnight screenings, and every time I do it, I swear I’m not going to do it again. They tend to attract, by and large, 17 year olds whose parents extended their curfew by a few hours, or just plain obnoxious drunks. Also, I’m usually wrecked by the time I get out of one because it’s so late, depending on the movie. I saw both Pirates of the Caribbean sequels at midnight. I saw Batman Begins, The Prestige (Bale is a great midnight draw…lol), Rob Zombie’s Halloween (from which I promptly walked out halfway through, only the third movie to induce such a reaction out of me), Harry Potter 5, Zodiac, Casino Royale, The Da Vinci Code, Iron Man, and I’m sure a few others I can’t think of right now. I haven’t done it since Iron Man, and it will have to take one heck of a movie to get me to do it again. I much prefer the earliest matinee, when the audience demographic that tends to get most on my nerves is still sleeping off their hangovers. Why they’re doing it for Night at the Museum, I have no idea, other than to guess that it’s to cater to the frat boy following of Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson.