Cat in the Hat Crowd Report

My reason for going to see this was more so ?why not?, as I didn?t have much else to do and didn?t want to see Gothika. Getting to the AMC Century 14 multiplex in LA at around 9:35 for the 9:55 pm show of Cat in the Hat, there weren?t many people at the ticket booth, but there was a sellout on the marquee board for the 9:45 Elf (in what looked like an under-200 seat auditorium).

Noticing a line of people outside the theater waiting for something, I ventured over to that area in case it was for my show, only to realize that one was a small line for Love Actually and the another for Gothika. I did not see the actual size of the line for the latter, but I can say that Underworld had a line on opening night, but Intolerable Cruelty did as well (but small).

Getting into the nearly deserted 220-some seat auditorium for Cat in the Hat (the other auditorium it was in seats 300), there were maybe 10 other people in there. At first the situation reminded me of when I saw Hulk there second night out at 11:00; I got there at 10:45, with the show not being sold out yet, and there were maybe 15 or 20 people in the auditorium (of 350+ seats). However, as the previews got into gear at Hulk, the room was not completely filled but it was somewhere between three-quarters and capacity.

With Cat in the Hat, there were maybe 50 people in total when all was said and done. And considering I had seen Finding Nemo on opening night in Westwood with a full house at 9:15 (450 people), and Elf (at this multiplex) at 10:05 on opening night with a full house (300 people), this crowd situation did not seem overly encouraging.

As Cat in the Hat was kicking into gear, I got a vibe that it might gross $13 - 15 million for opening day, as it did not have The Grinch ($15.7 million - $5,025 per-screen) feel to me but still felt big. However, midway through it almost gave me a Flintstones: Viva Rock Vegas vibe ($3.1 million - $1,027 per-screen); and then later on I was reminded of Daddy Day Care ($7.6 million - $2,255 per-screen) ? I?m all over the map.

What I am fairly sure of is the slim chance of this being another Grinch, and I could even see this movie having somewhat weak legs; I could see some people disliking this movie with a passion. And the film itself seems to lack a special spark or offer that would target a broad audience; it?s definitely got the name as a marketing point, but the film is nowhere near as epic as The Grinch.

The audience at the show mostly went from 21 - 35 in age, with females having a slight edge over males; there were a few young teens and a few people who were probably in their 40?s. None of the trailers exerted any special reactions, with the spots including 50 First Dates (a godsend, as it was the only non-family ad), Cheaper by the Dozen, Scooby-Doo 2, Agent Cody Banks 2 (do most moviegoers even know there was an original?), Home on the Range, and Shrek 2.

Despite negative critical reviews, the audience seemed to enjoy the movie but it didn?t seem to extract mass enthusiasm; there were many moments of laughs and some chuckles from the crowd, even though the 40-some year old man in front of me may not have ever broken a smile. While I did find Cat in the Hat diverting, it wasn?t exactly a fulfilling film but it did the job, as it served as more of a time filler opportunity; the fact that I was willing to hit a midnight show afterwards (if there was anything good) was probably a good cue to that.