Excitement Lacks Without Midnight Premiere of the Hunger Games
Two years ago, when we walked out of “The Hunger Games” premiere at 2 a.m., we were all buzzing about the film. The next day, we slowly realized it’d be another year and a half until the sequel was released.
Now, a year and a half later, the buzz is back, and so is “The Hunger Games.”
However, many theaters have decided not to host a midnight premiere, but instead offer an earlier showing. At Shaker Square Cinema, the premiere is set for 8 p.m. Thursday night.
Movie midnight premieres excite audiences around the world. The energy always runs high as fans wait in anticipation outside the theater. People even line up as early as 8 p.m. just to get the chance at a good seat.
“Going to the midnight premiere is really exciting because it’s in the middle of the night! The eight o’clock premiere is just like a normal time to go. It’s nothing special,” junior Avery Oberfeld said.
We just don’t think the hype will be as intense for an 8 p.m. showing. What’s the point of releasing the movie on Thursday when it’s supposed to come out Friday? It kills suspense. Since the adrenaline of staying up into the early hours of the morning won’t kick in, audiences won’t be nearly as exhilarated if they walk out of the movie at 10 p.m. instead of 2 a.m. Instead, they’ll just be fatigued and exhausted from the long week of work.
However, there are still theaters that have decided to carry out the tradition of midnight premieres. Valley View Theater is hosting a midnight premiere, but for Shaker students, the long trek there and back doesn’t seem to be worth it, especially when it airs right here in Shaker Square. And when the whole excitement of the midnight premiere is being the first to see it, why bother dragging yourself to the midnight premiere when people have already come out of the movie two hours earlier?
Midnight premieres will be missed, especially for a movie with as many fans and as much build up as “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.” Let’s hope that by 2015, when Mockingjay is released, midnight movies will be in fashion once again.
