Has anyone ever done a movie marathon at a theater?

[ZephyrHawk]

When the last LOTR movie came out I arranged a group trip to watch a "marathon" screening of all three movies (in their extended editions). It took all day, and was awesome. My suggestions would be arrive early for good seats (really early) and find some way to sneak in your own snacks (because the movie theatre will bilk you out of every dollar you have).

 

[yoopermom]

Slightly OT, but I knew you Twihards would get a kick out of it...

I have DINK cousins, newly retired, that just got back from a 3 week driving trip around the Pacific Northwest. They were showing their pictures on the tv and they got to ones of some tiny town in Washington, and my cousin said, "Now I don't know anything about this Twilight "thing", but this whole town revolved around it, what is it about anyways?" I did this .

I told them they need to stop going to the foreign film festivals and start seeing some "real" movies.

Terri

 

[Sgt Mickey]

I did Toy Story I and II before III came out. That was the longest and I don't know if do more then two movies. AND I love the movies. BUT it is worth a try right

 

[JenM]

I did a marathon of the Indiana Jones movies (the original trilogy - this was before there was a 4th film), and I did the Dark Knight Trilogy this past summer.

It's a lot of fun. You couldn't pay me to do it for the Twilight movies, but marathons in general have been really fun.

 

[Handbag Lady]

Yes, I have and I would do it again.

The El Capitan Theatre here in Hollywood does a Pirate Marathon now when a new Pirate movie comes out. I have now attended two of them, once for #3 and then again for #4.

It is so much fun, I can't even explain. I go with my gaggle of girlfriends, and we pack a backpack full of candy. The El Cap does it up really well, we get breaks, and they have us eat between movies out back and they give us food and ice cream and stuff.

They even had some of the Pirates from the movies show up. THAT was awesome. Poor Norrington, we screamed like we were 15 when he walked out on stage.

For the last one, they even gave us a bag and some special Pirate pins.

So, yes, go, and have fun and enjoy yourself. I can't wait now for POTC #5 to come out. We might have to get a hotel room nearby for that one!

(Oh, and I am 44 years old.)





ETA: At the El Cap, the seats are purchased ahead so you have assigned seating. This is the ONLY way I'd do a marathon instead of having to live with some random assigned seat.

 

[lemondog]

12 hours in a dark theater not having to feed kids, change diapers or worry about anyone but myself? Sign me up!!!!! Bonus points if they sell wine at the snack bar!

 

[mmouse37]

I'm thinking about signing myself up for the Twilight marathon. It's 5 movies in a row with a run time of 693 minutes.

Has anyone here ever participated in a movie marathon like this and what was your experience?

I would be going alone as my husband would rather burn his own retinas than sit through this. And my daughter is in school

(ETA: I am a 43 year old woman and I understand that I should inherently be ashamed of myself for even considering spending the day in a theater watching Twilight movies -- but that issue aside....)

I would love this!!! I have not done a movie marathon yet but would love it. I did recently go see Lawrence of Arabia (over 3 hours by myself at the theatre when it was playing for one day only. They had a 15 minute intermission in the middle. Great for a bathroom break!!!

MJ

 

[Suelala]

*raises hand* Me!

I have gone solo all the Twilight releases and sat through them all including last years 4 movies with BD1 at Midnight. It was fun getting to meet all the fans around me (had a news crew visit our theatre last year) and they had trivia games and such between movies. My rowmates even got Cheesecake factor for dinner (rest. next door to theatre) between New Moon and Eclipse. I also attended the 4 night Harry Potter 8 movie marathon, too.
I have my ticket for the 5 movies and they took pity on us and will start BD2 at 10:00pm! Some tips:
- show up early as in 1-2 hours early for choice of seat. You don't want to be in the very front seats for 10+ hours!
- bring/wear comfy clothes and a blanket if you get cold easily. Fashion can take a break - dress like Bella.
- well charged electronics for while you wait and take pics of the crazy crowd
- water bottle to refil at the fountains and snacks in your backpack. They will let you bring in a bag - like I said earlier I brought in take out without a blink of an eye (and I was by far not the only one! - the rest. was handing out menus when you went into the theatre, lol). Save the sugar for the end and watch the salt. To harry potter I brought in sandwhiches to save money.
- Plan your bathroom breaks - cut out a scene or two before the end of the movie or a slow scene in the middle to avoid 15 minute or more waits in the HUGE bathroom lines.
- Plan to revel in the fandom.

Have fun!

Good suggestions!! I have not even read all of the Twilight books, but my SIL is a huge fan, and had no one to go with, so I volunteered. I may have to leave for awhile and come back if I cant take it, but it should be fun, for a few hours anyway! I plan to eat a good breakfast, as our theatre wont allow any food to be brought in, and I sure dont want just theater food for the day!
The blanket is a great suggestion, thanks!

 

[Suelala]

Why can't theatres do these marathons with comedy movies?

Or a bunch of Christmas movies?

The Santa Clause
The Santa Clause2
Christmas with the Kranks
Christmas Vacation

I know these movies have been out a while, but it might still be fun......

I hope some theater managers are reading this! That would be a lot of fun! Lets throw in the Christmas Carol 3-D movie that Jim Carrey was in, too! I have it at home, but it isnt NEARLY as good at home without the 3-D.

 

[ghtx]

I'm with your husband on this one!

I am curious what the attraction would be for you? If you were going with a group of friends, movie choice aside, maybe I'd get it. But I can't imagine spending that much time in a movie theater, all alone, watching something that is available on DVD. But if it sounds like a fun filled day to you, go for it. Have fun!

You obviously aren't much of a cinema fan.

I can't imagine why people feel the need to go see movies with other people. Isn't the whole point of a movie to sit quietly and watch? Why do you have to be sitting next to friends to enjoy a movie?

I say OP should go and have fun.

 

[tiggger1]

make sure you check with the theatre. my friend and I did the marathon for the BD1 (they advertised that if you bought tickets to all 4 movies, you'd get prime seats for BD1) only to find out that they switched theaters and tried to make us leave the theater and get in the back of the 500 person line to reenter the theatre. the 6 of us that sat there for 6+hours refused and thankfully another woman printed the ad, so they let us into the theater during before they let everyone else in...

 

[baseballmickey]

I attended a LOTR marathon when Return of the King was released. The first two movies were the extended edition. It was a long day, and the theater was PACKED! We (me and my brother) didn't get there early enough for decent seats. They gave away some stuff and had a break between movies that allowed us to use the concession stand between the first two, and then we drove down the road to a restaurant between the 2nd and 3rd.

If you are a fan, I say do it! Most of us do not have theater quality entertainment systems in our homes, so the opportunity to do something like this is a rare treat!

 

[LisaR]

You obviously aren't much of a cinema fan.

I can't imagine why people feel the need to go see movies with other people. Isn't the whole point of a movie to sit quietly and watch? Why do you have to be sitting next to friends to enjoy a movie?

I say OP should go and have fun.

If not wanting to sit in a movie theater for 12 hours alone while watching Twilight means I am not much of a cinema fan, I'll agree with you. One movie alone is one thing. 12 hours? Nope, not happening.

But I do agree with you that the OP'er should go and have fun if that is her cup of tea.

 

[DeaverTex]

No. I can't even imagine sitting in one of those crappy seats for that long, having nothing but theater dreck to eat. In fact, I think that would be a very good working definition of Hades. Or Sheol. Or maybe Tartarus.

We've done LOTR marathons at home (extended), but we could pause the movie for bio-breaks and snack breaks, we were in comfy clothes with the best seats in the house, and had a few of our good friends over. Nobody shushed anybody, and we could back the movie up to take a second look at something if we wanted to.

 

[themilesfamily]

OP here. Thanks for all of the awesome responses! I think I'm going to do it. So wear my comfies, make sure I'm prepared with food and drink, get there early for a good seat, make sure that the theater provides prime seating for BD2 for the marathoners. And enjoy. I got it!

I'll report back on how it went.

 

[rszdtrvl]

I am really tempted to do ours. It is only $21 for all 5 movies - starts at 11:15am on the 15th.

 

[rszdtrvl]

I got my ticket this afternoon, after talking to the Asst. Manager.

There is a 20-30 minute break in between all movies and she is trying to get wristbands for the marathoners, so they can distinguish us from people just going to the final 2 or final movie. And so we don't have to try to hang on to our ticket forever.

We will be in the same theatre for all 5 movies, and you can save your spot while you are stretching/eating/etc.

They have one theatre completely full for the final movie so far, but only 16 (I was #16) signed up for the marathon (so far).

I think it will be a "once in a lifetime" thing, and will be a fun thing to do. I am a big fan of the movies, and also a collector, so I am excited.

The only thing is that I promised DH that I would see the movie again with him the next day, at the first showing. And I am going to miss a Baskeball parent meeting at the high school (but DH can deal with that).

 

[megveg]

I did a movie marathon at an AMC Premium Cinema for the Batman trilogy. The leather seats, beers, and unlimited popcorn &soda all for $25 bucks was awesome and I had a good time. I cant say Id sit through the Twilight movies, but I would LOVE a Star Wars marathon!!

 

[princesspumpkin]

When I was a teen, I did an all nighter. It consisted of all three Omen movies and The Squirm (who remembers that - man turns into a snake). Went with my big sister and her friend. It was soo cool leaving the theatre at dawn.

 

[westjones]

Just curious...how much would something like this cost? I don't remember ever seeing this available where I live, but it is an interesting idea.