Movie showtimes that are scheduled to take place at midnight are among the most populated screenings during opening weekend and beyond. This can be one of the greatest experiences ever for movie going audiences or one of the worst because there are advantages and drawbacks to attending these screenings. Here are pros and cons of midnight movie showings to consider when purchasing your next ticket at the box office.
The Pros of Midnight Movie Showings
1. Large groups of people who are mentally, physically and emotionally invested in a particular picture may share similar reactions to what is happening on the big screen. They laugh, cry, cheer, scare and get angry together, which creates a more communal experience. Therefore, people who camped out and went to see “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2” at midnight when it was released on July 15th likely had more fun watching the movie than a group of people who went to an afternoon show surrounded by people who are only there to get their kids, spouses and/or friends to stop nagging them about watching the movie.
2. Lots of new movies are often released at midnight, giving early audiences an opportunity to see them before everybody else in the town. This can be an advantage for everyone from office employees who want to brag at the water cooler about being among the first to see a film to students or parents who have a busy schedule an want to get a showing in as quickly as possible so they can get on with their upcoming day.
3. Going to see a movie that is released at midnight helps to eliminate the possibility of someone spoiling the plot during and after opening weekend. Learning about a crucial plot point in a movie that one plans to go see is no fun and ruins the anticipation for many, if not all movie going audiences. Someone will either decide to not go see the movie at all, which lowers the film’s box office gross or the person will go see it anyway but the experience will never be the same since another person who attended an earlier screening spilled the beans about the plot.
The Cons of Midnight Movie Showings
4. A college student that I consulted with about this blog post told me about a frustrating experience of going to see “Twilight: New Moon” at midnight. She had a difficult time enjoying the movie because fellow fans at this midnight movie screening were so excited that they were talking as it played on the big screen. The point of going to a theater is to watch the movie being shown, not to discuss what is happening or what you think is going to happen in later scenes.
5. Poor theater choices for midnight movie showings can sometimes result in audience members wishing that they waited until the daytime or after opening weekend has passed to see a film. This is because some movie theaters attract rowdy, ignorant and violent audiences that are inconsiderate of others. Movie goers who attend midnight screenings at low quality theaters are more likely to endure cell phone conversations, crying babies, kiddie pranks, fights and other nuisances that do not take place at theater locations where the audience is more mature, reserved and respectful of one another and the venue’s policies.
6. Having to stay up and awake late at night is one of the disadvantages of attending midnight movie showings. Many audience members do not enjoy staying up until 3:00 in the morning and then driving all the way home, even if the movie that they watched was enjoyable. So while going to see a movie at midnight may seem exciting at first, the experience becomes less enjoyable after the night has wound down and people realize that they have to get up in a few hours to go to work, church, school, run errands or complete other tasks. Their responsibilities need to be completed, despite the fact that they are running on only a few hours of sleep.....if they slept at all when returning home from a midnight movie showing.
What Pros or Cons of midnight movie showings would YOU add to this list?
Photo courtesy of Bonita Sarita
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