Disclaimer: On the insistence of my best friend, I attended a midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last night at the Irvine Spectrum. Five full theaters had sold out, and there were lines wrapping from Edwards through the Spectrum and down the street.
(Almost) unbelievably, 2,311 U.S. theaters hosted midnight screenings for the latest entry in the Harry Potter film franchises, bringing in a total of $12 million.
And, actually, it really wasn't all that bad. In fact, it was adorable.
I love the books, hate the films, but I like seeing people get dressed up and screaming at the screen (Grown Woman Well in Her 30s: “Dan, HAVE MY BABIES!”—seriously, people. He's 18. That's weird), the cheering at any and all appearances of Dumbledore, the catcalling (yeah, Hermione was born in 1990. That's even weirder), the people lining up starting at 8 in the morning for a 3:15 a.m. show with blankets, pillows, lawn chairs and copies of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in their hands.
Kids, teenagers and adults were wrapped in homemade Gryffindor- and Slytherin-colored scarves (where's the Hufflepuff, people?), had eyeliner lightning bolts on their foreheads, robes and a couple even had light sabers (?).
Call them nerds and/or fanboys/girls, but I just think it's awesome that people can get so hyped up about some books still. I mean, do people even read anymore?
And why are you even reading this anyway?
