Last Samurai Crowd Report

Due to an obligation prior to the screening, I didn?t end up getting to Last Samurai at the Westwood Village theater (1300 seats) in LA until about 10:25 for the 10:40 show. I had bought tickets online earlier, but was uneasy about the seating conditions given my later arrival; picking up my tickets, the show was not sold out yet, which did make me start to question the film?s box office.

Getting into the lobby and peeking in on the main floor seating, the middle section (350 - 400 seats) was crowded but the side seats on both sides of the auditorium were nearly empty; getting to the balcony (300 seats), that section was only about one-fourth filled. At this point, the crowd situation had reminded me of opening night of Once Upon a Time in Mexico at 7:00. However, by the time the lights had dimmed, the balcony was about half-filled, and the main floor seemed more crowded than it had been ten minutes earlier. Regardless, this was far from a sellout, with the venue being between half and three-quarters filled.

In terms of comparisons, A.I. had sold out the 7:00 show on opening night and likewise with Minority Report and Ocean?s 11, whereas Daredevil and Anger Management had relevant attendance as Samurai at the 10:00 hour; Once Upon a Time??s 10:00 attendance looked about the same as well. Kill Bill did sell out the 10:00 on opening night at least an hour beforehand, but that might have been in the same vein as Eyes Wide Shut (which had sold out the night) in its ability to attract true film buffs to one of the largest theaters in LA.

At first glance I predicted roughly $8 million for Last Samurai?s first night gross based upon entering the theater; after seeing the entire crowd, $10 million seemed like a decent peak figure for the range. Is there a chance that this pulls a Daredevil, Anger Management, or something larger than Mexico in general? Possibly, as I did consider the fact that UCLA (a block away) has finals next week, which could easily keep moviegoers from coming over ? we shall see.

When the lights dimmed, there was some cheering, which can be common at this theater depending on the size of the film. Once and a while the Village gets hardcore moviegoers who aren?t afraid to respond to the screen positively or negatively (cheering versus sarcasm or boo?s). For a big event film, you are likely to get some of the most insane bunch of moviegoers at a 10:00 show; for more modest-sized releases, the responses can be fairly typical multiplex reactions.

First trailer up was Miracle, which attracted a bit of sarcasm throughout its duration; the crowd had fun with this at the end, as claps went into the air, followed by a round of laughter.

Paycheck came next, which had a mostly silent reception.

Hellboy followed, which seemed to get a ?what the hell?? reaction in the end. At first the audience seemed potentially intrigued, but that odor vanished very quickly.

Taking Lives was up next, which experienced a silent duration.

Troy followed, which didn?t get any apparent reactions until the end. Once Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom?s credits were shown, there was a very short light applause that went up.

There were evidently people in the crowd who were familiar with Day after Tomorrow, as a few claps went into the air at the load-up, followed by some more enthusiasm at the finale; the reaction was nothing over the top, but the crowd seemed to be into it.

I was waiting for the Return of the King trailer to appear and light up the room with insane claps and cheers, but there was no such appearance.

In a nutshell, the crowd ate up Last Samurai. Halfway into the movie when I was contemplating my existence in that auditorium, a big applause erupted after the first main sword fight, followed by a less intense applause once Cruise had defeated more men a little later. Laughter and giggles showed up at the right spots, and a light applause went up when the end credits rolled.

I?m probably going to be pummeled to the ground for this much like Seabiscuit, but I kid you not, Last Samurai challenges The Matrix Revolutions for the award of most boring film of the year. I was actually looking forward to this, but as it was kicking into gear the movie failed to engage me (after the title hit the screen, it lost me).

Usually when a film fails to enthrall me in the first twenty minutes, I fear for my life, and especially when the running time clocks in at more than two hours. Almost halfway through Last Samurai I was still wondering when the film was going to start, as I had stared in utter boredom for an hour. There was some cinematography worth mentioning here and there, but most of what I saw was Tom Cruise trying his hardest to win Best Actor of the year with his collection of serious facial expressions. The experience sparked painful memories of seeing Gangs of New York and finding that film dull and endless.

I will give Last Samurai credit, as it does not rank as poorly as Revolutions overall, but on an entertainment spectrum Samurai bored the hell out of me despite a few moments grabbing me. I was expecting something of a Gladiator experience and got a film with long stretches of scenes that didn?t go anywhere ? oh well, I guess.

Recently I realized that of all my Village reports, I?ve never attached pictures of the theater, as I do have some (and no, I didn?t shoot them):
http://www.leesmovieinfo.net/images1/VillageSW.jpg (front of theater)

http://www.leesmovieinfo.net/images1/Fox3.jpg (balcony view)
(If you?ve seen Bowfinger, the premiere at the end is the Village, inside and out)