Along Came Polly Crowd Report

Since most movies over the next few months are bound to suck (except Starsky & Hutch, which is a good, fun movie), I took advantage of one of the only appealing comedies and hit the 10 pm show of Along Came Polly in Century City (LA) on Friday night.

When I bought tickets online at 9:00, the 9:20 show appeared to be sold out (the only performance offered in an additional auditorium), which seemed like a potential clue to the crowd situation I?d be dealing with (however, I don?t know how big the auditorium is for that screening). Getting to the theater at about 9:35, there was a decent-sized line to get in and it was just being let in as I arrived. The auditorium seats 432 people and the room was filling up, but was not entirely full yet ? I?d guess that there was close to 300 people in there at the time.

Moviegoers in attendance were mostly in their early-to-late 20?s, some in their 30?s, and a few under 20. The ratio of males to females was pretty even, and while the date crowd was definitely in force, there were a good number of guys without girls, and vise versa, proving the cast?s universal appeal. Once the lights dimmed, the auditorium was full, and it seemed like the overall attitude in the room was very positive in terms of anticipation.

The first trailer up was 50 First Dates, which got a few laughs at Sandler?s first appearance, some more when Rob Schneider came on and some at the end, but nothing over the top.

The next trailer was Starsky & Hutch, and from the first moment that Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson appeared, this preview owned the room. There was a big eruption of ?Oh my God? laughter at the duo, and the same enthusiasm flowed throughout the trailer. The response reminded me a lot of when I saw Bruce Almighty?s first trailer in theaters, with everyone having gone nuts when Jim Carrey was fully shown.

The first shot of Snoop-Dogg drew a good enthusiastic reaction, with Vince Vaughn?s appearance getting a more toned down but supportive response; and the mention of Old School and Road Trip seemed to get people even more excited. And with Will Ferrell?s walk-in, he withdrew a solid round of surprise laughter (I also happened to watch the teaser for his next comedy, Anchorman, when I got back and I can't remember the last time a teaser/trailer has made me laugh so consistently).

I think the crowd was ready to see Starsky & Hutch halfway through the trailer, and the ad even retrieved a few claps afterwards, which doesn?t happen a lot at this multiplex. Having seen the film itself, I don?t think Warner Bros. can get away with a big opening weekend since the marketing is just starting now, but I do expect this to perform pretty well, possibly in the league of Kill Bill and Once Upon a Time in Mexico.

The Prince and Me followed in its path and that?s about all I can say about that. The trailer didn?t seem to get much support from the audience, and it reminded me of when I saw American Wedding with the Under the Tuscan Sun ad getting a rather humble response from that crowd. Not that I would have had any intention to see Prince and Me in a theater before viewing this ad, but this trailer gives me every reason not to see it ever given that I?ve now seen the entire movie in just two minutes ? you gotta love these previews. Prince?s trailer mostly played to silence, and I think I heard a few quiet, sarcastic quips afterwards.

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen came next, which retrieved more or less the same reactions as the previous trailer.

As the Dawn of the Dead trailer loaded, I suspected a potentially good film in the works given the tone (and I got somewhat questionable as it played), and it didn?t take long before the preview shut the crowd up pretty well. I heard some girls or young women getting very apprehensive at one specific moment near the beginning, but the response was not quite consistent throughout. At the end of the preview, it was hard to tell whether or not the crowd was into the flick or not, as the room was mostly silent but I vaguely detected a little sarcasm amongst the audience. In comparison, the first time I saw the trailer for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake at Bad Boys II, the ad played to silence but then applause and even a little cheering broke out afterwards.

The next trailer was The Girl Next Door, which did get a few laughs, but this was also a hard one to decode the general vote from the crowd.

Van Helsing wrapped up the list and got a silent treatment despite that its trailer is likely intended to ignite a theater in claps and cheers?but, that just didn?t happen.

The crowd was enjoying Along Came Polly from the start and the enthusiasm never let up. A few moments delivered big eruptions of laughter much like some of the responses from There?s Something About Mary, and there was a good consistency rate amongst the crowd with breezy chuckles and general laughs. There wasn't any clapping afterwards, but the general consensus was quite positive, with many expressing their enjoyment on their way out of the theater.

Though I saw Texas Chainsaw Massacre in this same room at basically the same time with a full house on opening night, I doubt Polly will reach similar box office heights. A decent-sized line (to get in) at this multiplex has generally cued to a mid-to-high $2000 per-screen average, which has been the case for Underworld and Gothika. I got to Elf at the last minute on opening night here, but there was a good chance that there was some form of a line for that as well.

For Texas Chainsaw, I got there close to its showtime, so I was not aware of a line, but the theater was close to half-filled twenty minutes before the show. For American Wedding, the line snaked around the mall but didn?t sell out until the movie started, while Polly?s line didn?t appear as lengthy. With that being said, I could see an opening day gross of close to $7 million and up to about $9 million, with my two basic estimates being $6.5 - 7.0 million or $8.0 million.