Crowd Report: "Kill Bill Vol. 2"

When I tried to see Kill Bill: Volume 1 on opening night at the Westwood Village theater (1300 seats) in LA, the show had sold out by about 9:05 for the 10:00 show, and I did not yet have tickets. After looking at the line to get in that stretched down the block, it looked like a crazy crowd, and that factor frustrated me at the time. While I know that it?s just a movie, if you?re like me and the audience reaction is part of the experience, being deprived the chance to see something like this with a big, hyped up opening night audience can be disappointing.

And just to let you know how much of an obsessive-compulsive movie freak I was this time around, I bought tickets for the 10:00 show of Volume 2 (at the Village) last week. On Friday night I drove by the theater around 8:15 and there was a line of maybe 50 - 100 people waiting to get in, but the show was not sold out yet; getting back there around 8:40, the line had stretched around the corner. At first I thought that I had a not so great position in line, but that mindset sort of faded as I watched hundreds and hundreds of people with tickets walk past my position, toward the end of the line over time.

Around 8:55 I overheard that the show was sold out, and there were indeed people without tickets (some were even contemplating the 12:45 am show). And by 9:20, the line had stretched around two corners of the block (it is always amusing to watch people?s reactions when they get there at around 9:00, and can?t believe how long the line is).

This crowd was dominantly male, but not by a long shot (the gender ratio might have been 55/45); and predictably, the movie attracted the UCLA crowd, but there was a decent showing of moviegoers in their late-20?s and early-30?s as well (or so it seemed).

And in terms of enthusiasm, this was the type of crowd that you usually get at Star Wars here ? absolutely rowdy, responding to anything without hesitation. When the lights dimmed, there was a bombardment of cheers and applause, but that quickly faded away as the first preview got into gear. The first trailer was Hero, and with the tagline, ?Quentin Tarantino Presents? at the beginning, there was a roar of cheers. That energy wasn?t consistent throughout the ad, but the preview did get a decent applause afterwards.

Troy?s ad followed, and people were already cheering as it started up. Almost every actor?s name got cheers or claps to some extent (Brad Pitt got the largest reaction), and while there wasn?t a roaring reception afterwards, the overall response was evidently very cheerful.

The sequel to Anaconda was next, which people were making fun of throughout its entire duration. The beauty of a Village crowd like this is that even with the bad movie trailers, the audience will have fun; there was a playful applause after the ad concluded, and many people were blurting out (sometimes-unfunny) attacks on the film afterwards.

The Stepford Wives was next, which drew a humble reaction, but people seemed to like Christopher Walken?s presence ? other than that, moviegoers didn?t seem to care about the film. The fact that this preview didn?t get boo?d off the stage was somewhat surprising considering some of the (odd trailer placement) reactions I?ve witnessed in the past at this theater.

The last trailer was another martial arts flick like Hero, but I don?t remember the title, and can?t find the name of it online. The ad did retrieve a little enthusiasm, but Hero?s response was bigger.

Once the THX sound display was loading up, the room was already being filled with cheers, and that energy continued as the Miramax logo appeared (and the music kicked off). As the logo disappeared and the introduction gave way, the audience got quiet, but there was a light applause when the title came to the screen. The cameo at the beginning also withdrew surprised reactions, sparking a very brief, light applause (but only from a specific section of the crowd).

Responses throughout the movie were extremely positive; there had to have been around three eruptions of cheers and applause (beyond its introduction), and the reaction to Pai Mei retrieved a lot of laughs. There wasn?t a lot of clapping during the ending credits montage, but Thurman received the largest ovation. I know that by this point the terms ?applause? and ?cheers? probably have no effect anymore, but the crowd did give in to a large round of those when the ending credits montage concluded.

As for opening night box office comparisons, Eyes Wide Shut had been my center focus before the weekend (and still is). That film sold out the 7 and 10 shows on opening night at the Village, and while I don?t know what attendance was like at the 7:00 show of Volume 2, Eyes Wide Shut still seems to be a decent comparison. Scanning showtime availability in the evening around town, there were several theaters already starting to sell out for the night.

There?s a chance Volume 2 could have a per-screen average similar to Jackass ($3873 per-screen), but Kill Bill could also be the type of film that plays very well in the top markets or film buff areas (like LA and NY) and not as great in other average cities. Eyes Wide Shut seemed to fall under that description, as if it?s opening night status in Westwood was the general situation everywhere, its gross probably would have been more. That film averaged $3219 per-screen (in 2411 theaters), and with that in mind for Kill Bill: Volume 2 (in 2971 theaters), a Friday gross of close to $10 million is possible, with a slight chance of roughly $11 million.

http://www.leesmovieinfo.net/images1/Fox3.jpg (balcony view of the Village)

http://www.leesmovieinfo.net/images1/Fox4.jpg (main level, from Bowfinger)