Return of the King Crowd Report

Since the theater-booking agents of Los Angeles decided that Return of the King should play in a limited number of great big theaters, I was forced to ditch Westwood (which is where I usually see big films) and see the new Lord of the Rings flick at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood.

This is a theater I had never been to before, but seats over 800 people and has a huge screen. By Monday of this week, the Wednesday night performances had already sold out here, so I resorted to the 3:00 pm show. I had also seen the first Harry Potter flick at 3:00 on opening day after the night performances sold out on me when I attempted to buy tickets the night before.

Since Paramount and Warner Bros. own most of the Westwood single-screen theaters, booking Return of the King at the Westwood Village theater (1300 seats) would have broken the studio contract since Last Samurai is currently playing there. Apparently, the guy who was in charge of booking those venues was fired last month due to his decision last December of putting The Two Towers at the Village over Star Trek: Nemesis, which is one of the most retarded things I?ve heard in a while.

As a result, Return of the King was booked at a fairly average multiplex in Westwood (where Universal, Touchstone, and New Line films usually go), which is also what happened with Austin Powers: Goldmember. I just think the situation is pretty lame, as the fact that a big movie is playing at the Village is a big pull factor for moviegoers and can significantly boost the ticket sales for the film in that area, since the multiplex is generally viewed as being boring.

There weren?t many people around the theater by 2:00, but as 2:30 rolled around the crowds were beginning to show up. Somehow my friend and I had originally managed to get into the building without knowing that a) we were in the right place (as we were wandering hopelessly), and b) we weren?t theoretically supposed to be inside the theater yet.

There is the Cinerama Dome (a single screen theater) which we were confused about how to get inside, and there is an actual multiplex right next to it that seemed like it might connect to it, with us two being confused little souls. In doing so, we happened to come across someone else who was lost (thus proving that we weren?t the only stupid people, as the answer ended up being very simple), and who also happened to look very much like Luke Wilson. I wasn?t totally sure it was, but I definitely had the urge to ask.

I bring that up because it sparked amusing memories from when I saw Black Hawk Down in its limited release platform. Shawn Wayans happened to be sitting behind me originally, and he seemed to be hiding, as I was all the way in the back of the packed theater in the side seats. When I had turned around and asked him if he could save my seats ? before I realized who he was ? he vaguely agreed; coming back to my seats some minutes later, my whole row was taken.

But back to the point?no official line formed for our show outside, as everyone just crowded the theater lobby, waiting. By 3:15, the theater was packed and there was a delay in getting the show started, with a few seats available here and there but for the most part the venue was filled. The demographics in the theater seemed mostly early 20?s to late 30?s (with a heavy population being the median of that range), and the gender ratio was fairly even but males seemed to have a slight edge.

Either the manager or an employee came to the front of the auditorium before the lights dimmed, and prepped us with an introduction to the film that included a mentioning of the main cast/credits list (which is something I?ve never seen happen before). He also asked how excited we all were about seeing the last edition of the franchise, and the crowd responded with a light applause and some cheers; as the lights dimmed, there were no big enthusiasm outbursts from the audience.

The first trailer up was Win a Date with Ted Hamilton, and outside of a few slightly audible giggles, the ad received more of a quiet reaction.

Next up was a teaser trailer that definitely made me raise a big question mark, and that being either the prequel to The Mask or the sequel to it (I just know it had something to do with the movie). The preview actually started like it might be something good, but once the punchline ? or lack thereof ? was presented, a big wave of ?What the hell was that?? breezed through the room, making just about everyone scratch their heads in confusion.

The next ad was Spider-Man 2, which had some people going, ?Ooh?? at the start. When the preview concluded, there was a light and short applause but it was mainly a specific section of the audience; my vicinity in the theater was nearly dead silent. The response was nothing like when I had seen Fellowship of the Ring at the Chinese theater in Hollywood, with the conclusion of the Spider-Man trailer getting one of the largest explosions of applause and cheers that I?ve ever heard for a movie. It was also fun to watch Spider-Man bring the roof down on that occasion and then watch Attack of the Clones? trailer follow in its footsteps and be able to practically hear a pin hit the ground afterwards.

The concluding trailer was The Butterfly Effect, which retrieved a ?Whatever?? response from the crowd.

There was a short, light applause once the title hit the screen, but after that point no obvious enthusiasm from the audience showed up until roughly two hours into the film; it seemed like everyone was choosing to watch the movie quietly, on a personal level.

The difference between this theater and Westwood is that a Village crowd will most likely cheer on the stars of Lord of the Rings when they come on, and those audiences tend to respond more overall (including booing the trailers if the movies look bad). However, the night audiences at the Cinerama Dome might have been different and more fun in responses, so I might have had a skewed perspective; this audience almost felt like a lunch-break crowd.

There were a few light applause rounds that broke in the second half of the film, but nothing too groundbreaking. When the end credits hit the screen, there was some applause, but I didn?t hear too many people come out overly jazzed about the experience; people evidently liked the film very much, but I didn?t detect anyone going nuts over it.

Since I?ve never been to this theater, I have no solid perspective in the ways of predicting a box office gross out of the crowd situation. The only comparison I can make is that I saw the first Harry Potter film at 3:00 in Westwood on opening day with an almost full house (of 1300 seats). Sorcerer?s Stone grossed $32.3 million ($8,805 per-screen) in its first day, and with Return of the King?s Tuesday midnight showings in the argument, I wouldn?t be surprised if this film reaches a similar target (and after seeing the film itself); but don?t trust me too thoroughly?

I?m going to be argued with for a while on this, but I thought Return of the King was not only the weakest edition of the franchise but such a boring experience. Only one scene managed to captivate me, with three hours of total nothingness; it felt like Meet Joe Black with just a bit more of a point.
Just kidding?after some people were surprised that I didn?t like The Last Samurai, I had an urge to play around with this one.

I actually liked Return of the King, but didn?t love it; it had me in the beginning, but did lose me sometimes ? I didn?t find it consistently entertaining/enthralling. But nonetheless, I found it to be a well-done finale, as there are enough virtues that make up for the slow sections; however, I wouldn?t want to put up with the running time again without a remote control.

I?m not sure where the film ranks up specifically on my chart in comparison to the two other editions, but I did like it more than the original, with Two Towers and it being pretty face to face. The Two Towers managed to speed by the first time I saw it (with the second time in theaters feeling like the longest movie ever made ? but then again, the sound was weak), and this time around I felt the affects of the running time but still enjoyed it.

What irritated me in the end of Return of the King was the many endings of which director Peter Jackson decided to tag on. When the film first fades to black (or white ? can?t remember which it is), I wanted the film to end on that note, but instead the film continues on and ends up fading to black a few more times before it?s really over.

I didn?t feel like the tone at the ?real? ending was necessary, as it actually turned me off. But then again, you have to realize that I?ve never read the books and I?m not all that into the story in general, so my opinion might not be on the same page as a knowledgeable fan. But yes, I?ll have to admit ? it?ll be weird without another edition.

View of Inside Cinerama Dome >>