Theaters gear up for final 'Twilight' movie

Local movie theaters are bracing themselves for a busy night.

Tonight, scores of “Twilight” fans — so-called Twi-hards — will flock to theaters across the country for the release of the final film in the five-movie franchise. “Breaking Dawn - Part 2” is the long-awaited conclusion to the saga of Bella Swan, a girl in love with a vampire. (For a rundown of the film, see the summary on page 13.)

The “Twilight” saga, which is based on four books by Stephenie Meyer, has raked in $2.5 billion to date. The movies have been as wildly popular in the Flathead Valley as in the rest of the country, and local theaters don’t expect this final release to be any different.

In Whitefish, Mountain Cinema 4 will offer a midnight showing tonight.

“We’ll have it in a minimum of two theaters, possibly three,” manager Terri Gimello said.

She jokingly added that having more theaters open is good for families who might want to see the movie together — but not together.

“So the mother who brings her daughter doesn’t have to listen to her daughter squeal. She can go to another house — where she can squeal,” Gimello said, laughing.

The showing starts at 12:05 a.m. Friday.

“We’re still running evening shows, but as soon as [the movies] are out, we can let them in,” Gimello said. “Some get out by 11, so we can seat by 11:15 or 11:30. Hopefully we’ll sell out.”

Tickets to the show are $8.25. Seniors 60 and older, children 12 and younger, and military personnel get in for $5.75.

For more information, call 863-9070 or visit www.polsontheatres.com.

Signature Theatres in Kalispell is hosting a “Twilight” marathon before the release tonight.

Starting at 12:10 p.m., the theater will screen all four movies that have already been released: “Twilight,” “New Moon,” “Eclipse” and “Breaking Dawn - Part 1.”

By Tuesday, the theater already had sold about 60 tickets to the marathon, assistant manager George Lund said in a phone interview.

“We’re expecting close to 100. That’s what we’re shooting for,” he said.

But a four-movie marathon before the 115-minute “Breaking Dawn - Part 2” release might be too much for some fans.

“It’s 12 hours long,” Lund said. “That’s a long time to be sitting in the theater.”

Two girls who stopped by the theater Tuesday afternoon to buy tickets to “Breaking Dawn - Part 2” agreed. While Lund got their tickets ready — one girl purchased one ticket to the premiere; her friend bought three — they talked about the other movies Thursday.

“Could you imagine watching the marathon?” one of them asked. “Oh my gosh, you’d be here all night.”

There will be 15-minute breaks between the first and second movies and the third and fourth films,  and a 30-minute break between the second and third films and the fourth and fifth movies, he said.

The fifth movie, “Breaking Dawn Part 2,” starts at 10 p.m.

“It’s partly for kids who have to go to school the next day, but it’s also what the movie companies are allowing us to do,” Lund said.

Releasing the movie at 10 p.m. instead of midnight is a nice break for the staff, he added. 

“We have to be here till the end of the movie,” he said. “It’s the difference between getting out at 2:30 and getting out at 12:30.”

Signature Theatres expects to sell out at least two or three theaters at tonight’s premiere, Lund said. Because it will be so busy, he had two words of advice for fans: “Come early.”

“We expect lines to start filling up two hours to three hours early, so get here at seven, eight o’clock to get good seats,” he said.

To handle the crowd and to make sure the facility stays clean throughout the marathon, it will be all hands on deck today.

“It’s a pretty big deal,” Lund said. “We’ve been preparing for it. ... We don’t really need to hire extra people, but we keep extra people for movie premieres like this.”

Tickets to the premiere are $8.50 each. Tickets to the marathon, which includes the fifth movie, are $25.

“It’s a pretty good deal on the marathon,” Lund said. “Our normal ticket prices are $8.50 per movie, so you’re saving a full movie price and then some.”

For more information, call 752-7804 or visit www.signaturetheatres.com.

Kristi Albertson, editor of This Week in the Flathead, may be reached at 758-4438 or at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.