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Craig Younkin
Crowd Report: "Spider-Man 2"
By Lee Tistaert Published July 1, 2004
I came to realize that UCLA is out for the summer, and since this crowd would be heavily college-oriented the fact that the conditions were not insane probably had something to do with that.
This crowd report is a little late (compared to the usual early morning second day posting), but better late than never; plus, based off the crowd status I couldn?t even come to a solid box office conclusion for Wednesday. I attended the 10:40 show on Wednesday night at the Village theater (1300 seats) in Westwood, and Spider-Man was sending some confusing signals as far as an opening day gross. For one thing, I was able to buy an additional ticket by Wednesday afternoon (I had first bought tickets on Sunday night), which wouldn?t have been possible with the first movie; and the show hadn?t even sold out by 10:15, nor did it ever sell out.
I decided not to wait in line for a change, as I think I?ve found one of the best seats in the house that you can get even after most of everyone?s been seated (which is a new secret of mine). Had that plan backfired on me and we?d be left with one of the worst seats in there, I don?t think I would?ve cared too deeply, as I wasn?t that gung-ho about this movie (and fortunately, it worked).
I got there at 10:00 and the line had wrapped around one corner of the block, but considering that the Kill Bill: Volume 2 line was probably twice as thick and had wrapped around two corners of the block on opening night, these were not exactly horrendous conditions. The crowd had to have been roughly 75% college (early to mid 20?s), with maybe 25% being late 20?s to early 30?s.
Once inside, there were probably 850 - 900 people on the main level (which seats 1000), and the balcony had around 250 people (which seats 300). The crowd status was about in gear with Kill Bill: Volume 1 on its second night, and Starsky & Hutch on opening night (which obviously wasn't going to happen, box office wise). However, I came to realize that UCLA (which is a block away) is out for the summer, and since this crowd would be heavily college-oriented the fact that the conditions were not insane probably had something to do with that.
Once the lights dimmed, there was a roar of cheering and some light applause, but it didn?t last that long; then came a collection of commercials which the audience didn?t appreciate, as once the ?All Audiences? preview slide came up people were excited. The first trailer was Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, and since this theater had upped the sound and bass to an awesome level (occasionally the sound system is disappointingly tame), this venue was actually making this ad sort of fun even though the movie doesn?t look that great. Probably as a result of the sound (or who knows, people might actually want to see it?though I have my doubts on that), the audience lightly applauded afterwards, and there were some cheers.
Blade Trinity was next, and there was a big wave of cheers when Wesley Snipes was shown, followed by some more when the trailer concluded.
The Aviator?s trailer followed, which retrieved a humble response from the crowd.
Next up was the new trailer for Catwoman, which actually seemed like people would care about as the ad got into gear. However, once the ad finished off the theater was bombarded by hardcore booing, followed by a big round of laughter as a result.
Anacondas came next, which some people were laughing about throughout, and it did get some boo?s afterwards, but not to such a massive extent as Catwoman.
Christmas with the Kranks finished off the lineup, and the first sighting of Tim Allen had some people tossing up sarcastic quips, but there were some laughs (in a good way) at a few points. But in general, the audience didn?t seem to care too much about this movie.
The audience was already cheering on the THX sound display as it was loading up, and their enthusiasm continued until the Sony Pictures logo came up, when they started to quiet down. A few people (over time) have actually questioned whether some of these crowd reactions I?ve reported are true, but I?ve never fabricated anything in these reports. An audience at the Village for a movie like this on opening night is usually ten times more vocal than the average crowd at a theater (and there?s usually a few people sitting around me who are amazed that the crowd is so loud).
The audience applauded several times throughout the movie (twice during action scenes, and once during a regular scene), laughed at the right spots (and heavily cheered Kirsten Dunst?s last line), and there was some applause and cheers afterwards but it wasn?t an epic reaction.
Having been slightly indifferent about the first Spider-Man (I tolerated it, but was disappointed), I thought this sequel was better but I still don?t consider it a great movie. The action scenes are a lot better and it isn?t as campy as the first, but I don?t think Sam Raimi and company set out to achieve greatness to begin with (despite Ebert?s claim). Lately I think I've realized why so many people love this franchise, which I?ll dive into in the review that I?ll try to write soon.
Below are some pictures of the Village theater for those who want to see what it looks like:
http://www.leesmovieinfo.net/images1/Fox3.jpg
http://www.leesmovieinfo.net/images1/village1.jpg
I decided not to wait in line for a change, as I think I?ve found one of the best seats in the house that you can get even after most of everyone?s been seated (which is a new secret of mine). Had that plan backfired on me and we?d be left with one of the worst seats in there, I don?t think I would?ve cared too deeply, as I wasn?t that gung-ho about this movie (and fortunately, it worked).
I got there at 10:00 and the line had wrapped around one corner of the block, but considering that the Kill Bill: Volume 2 line was probably twice as thick and had wrapped around two corners of the block on opening night, these were not exactly horrendous conditions. The crowd had to have been roughly 75% college (early to mid 20?s), with maybe 25% being late 20?s to early 30?s.
Once inside, there were probably 850 - 900 people on the main level (which seats 1000), and the balcony had around 250 people (which seats 300). The crowd status was about in gear with Kill Bill: Volume 1 on its second night, and Starsky & Hutch on opening night (which obviously wasn't going to happen, box office wise). However, I came to realize that UCLA (which is a block away) is out for the summer, and since this crowd would be heavily college-oriented the fact that the conditions were not insane probably had something to do with that.
Once the lights dimmed, there was a roar of cheering and some light applause, but it didn?t last that long; then came a collection of commercials which the audience didn?t appreciate, as once the ?All Audiences? preview slide came up people were excited. The first trailer was Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, and since this theater had upped the sound and bass to an awesome level (occasionally the sound system is disappointingly tame), this venue was actually making this ad sort of fun even though the movie doesn?t look that great. Probably as a result of the sound (or who knows, people might actually want to see it?though I have my doubts on that), the audience lightly applauded afterwards, and there were some cheers.
Blade Trinity was next, and there was a big wave of cheers when Wesley Snipes was shown, followed by some more when the trailer concluded.
The Aviator?s trailer followed, which retrieved a humble response from the crowd.
Next up was the new trailer for Catwoman, which actually seemed like people would care about as the ad got into gear. However, once the ad finished off the theater was bombarded by hardcore booing, followed by a big round of laughter as a result.
Anacondas came next, which some people were laughing about throughout, and it did get some boo?s afterwards, but not to such a massive extent as Catwoman.
Christmas with the Kranks finished off the lineup, and the first sighting of Tim Allen had some people tossing up sarcastic quips, but there were some laughs (in a good way) at a few points. But in general, the audience didn?t seem to care too much about this movie.
The audience was already cheering on the THX sound display as it was loading up, and their enthusiasm continued until the Sony Pictures logo came up, when they started to quiet down. A few people (over time) have actually questioned whether some of these crowd reactions I?ve reported are true, but I?ve never fabricated anything in these reports. An audience at the Village for a movie like this on opening night is usually ten times more vocal than the average crowd at a theater (and there?s usually a few people sitting around me who are amazed that the crowd is so loud).
The audience applauded several times throughout the movie (twice during action scenes, and once during a regular scene), laughed at the right spots (and heavily cheered Kirsten Dunst?s last line), and there was some applause and cheers afterwards but it wasn?t an epic reaction.
Having been slightly indifferent about the first Spider-Man (I tolerated it, but was disappointed), I thought this sequel was better but I still don?t consider it a great movie. The action scenes are a lot better and it isn?t as campy as the first, but I don?t think Sam Raimi and company set out to achieve greatness to begin with (despite Ebert?s claim). Lately I think I've realized why so many people love this franchise, which I?ll dive into in the review that I?ll try to write soon.
Below are some pictures of the Village theater for those who want to see what it looks like:
http://www.leesmovieinfo.net/images1/Fox3.jpg
http://www.leesmovieinfo.net/images1/village1.jpg
