Harry Potter premiere? Yes or no? - Page 2

[mtiger]

Originally Posted by Jeannine 

Originally Posted by mtiger 

The HP movies have always opened on Thursday night @ midnight, so this isn't anything new.

So, have all the movies opened in the summer, then?  I don't remember having faced this dilemma before, over HP.
 

Considering my kids have ditched school for each of the previous openings, no, they have not opened in summer.

[journeymom]

Sorcerer's Stone premiered in the US Nov 16, 2001

Chamber of Secrets, Nov 15, 2002

Prisoner of Azkaban June 4, 2004

Goblet of Fire, Nov 18, 2005

Order of the Phoenix July 11, 2007

Half Blood Prince July 15 2009, which was I think within days of the premiere of the book Deathly Hallows.  And Jo's (and Harry's) birthday, July 31.  July 2009 was a very Harry month. 

[VocalMinority]

StoriesintheSoil:

Thank you for your post.  That's JUST what I wanted to hear - and it's great to hear it from your perspective.  Enjoy the movie!  Just over 24 hours, now...

Journeymom:

That clears it up, then.  The year Goblet of Fire came out, our kids' school had a weird, longish break for Thanksgiving, so they were out of school. The only other ones where we've gone to the premieres were the ones that opened in the summer.  Even my oldest two were a bit young for HP when it first came out.  We started reading the series/watching the movies a little late in the game, then caught up.

[vegankelly]

I have to keep intentionally forgetting about the premiere, because I am way too excited for it to come out. If mine was old enough to enjoy it (or young enough to sleep through the whole thing) we'd be there (and suffer the consequences the next day). :)

[nextcommercial]

My daughter is going with a group of friends.  I want to see it... just not at midnight on a Thursday.... well, midnight on any day doesn't appeal to me at all.

[Honey693]

We're not going, but once DD is old enough I wouldn't hesitate about going to a few late things.  If they're doing well in school and can afford to miss a day I don't see the problem.  Special events like going to a midnight release of a movie or book are what create the memories they'll have at 40.

[Ornery]

I just printed out our tickets and I got such a thrill when I surprised my son with them.  I hadn't told him we were going so his expression was priceless!

I have to admit I'm not a huge fan so this is all for him.  I enjoyed the books but didn't fall in love.  My son has read and reread all of the books for years and listens to the CDs almost every night while going to sleep.

So excited to make these memories with him! 

Now the question is, what time do we go to the theater to get in line for good seats?

[mtiger]

Both of my kids said it was *excellent*, but quite intense and likely not great for the under 12/13 set...

[Ornery]

Yep, it was quite dark, as is to be expected from the book.

[TiredX2]

We (DP, DD11, DS9 & I) went and saw it at 4:25 today.  DD was really angry we we said she couldn't see it at midnight because "all" of her friends were going.  The other parents I talked to said their kids weren't going and today in school DD found out that no one had actually gone to the midnight showing--- she would probably be the first of her friends to see it anyway.  I found that funny.

[Cutie Patootie]

Dh and I went to the midnight showing.  We left after the kids were snoozing with grandma.  We took our 15yo nephew.  His parents said he could miss school on Friday.  I think it's a great memory for him.  He was over the top thrilled. Dh and I have been at 5 of out the 7 premieres.  When part 2 comes out, we'll likely see the midnight drive-in showing with our future 1 month old. :)

[annethcz]

It's a little late, but we took our kids.  We've read the books as a family.  And although we're not HP fanatics, we thought it would be a fun adventure and something the kids could look back on fondly.  Our kids do attend school, but didn't have school on Friday.  So we took our kids to the midnight showing and had a great time.  My youngest (6yo) fell asleep during the movie, but the rest stayed away and enjoyed the movie.  We went with another family, and they kids entertained each other while we were waiting for the movie to start.

[Jessy1019]

We have gone to the Twilight and other Harry Potter movies at midnight with my 8 year old.  We were going to do this one, too, but we have all been sick and really need to sleep more than we needed to be the first to see it.  We won't miss the next/last one!

Since we couldn't make it at midnight, we're all going to see it at the brand-new Fork and Screen tonight.  Seems like a good compromise, and everyone is excited!

[Smokering]

In New Zealand, at any rate, movies always come out on a Thursday - unless it's a sneak preview weekend (Fri-Sun) or a one-off arthouse film or something. It's just the way the distribution works - I used to work at the movies and we got used to a Thursday-to-Wednesday week in terms of rosters and movie schedules.

I didn't go to the midnight screening this year because I'm pregnant and exhausted. But I BEGGED my mother to let me see The Fellowship of the Ring at midnight, and it was awesome. Even though by the time she finally agreed, I had to settle for the 12:30AM session because the actual midnight screening was sold out. :p And even though she insisted on accompanying me (I was 13, I think)... and even though the first thing she said afterwards was "I didn't fancy that lady's hair", meaning Galadriel. But still! It was a fantastically awesome experience - the movie just blew me away, and I was surrounded by people who actually CARED and laughed in all the right places and got all the little Tolkieny in-jokes. Other than Mum, of course. :p I'll remember it forever, and I'm SO glad I went.

So obviously I have some sympathy for geekdom. And if my kidlings are ever so deeply invested in a movie that they can't WAIT to see it until the next day, well, they can go right ahead and grab a piece of that magic too. :) Assuming the movie isn't utter dross... I might have a hard time letting my kid go to, say, a Twilight movie. But that's a slightly different issue...

[ollyoxenfree]

DD went with her friends and had a great time. She really liked the movie and has been arguing with her older brother, who saw it this weekend. He thinks it was a terrible film because "There should have been at least some brief exposition at the start to explain who these people were and what was happening, for anyone who has never seen a Harry Potter movie or read the books. It was just hours and hours of 3 angsty kids stuck in a tent!"  (DS has been studying film in high school and has ummm, shall we say, strong opinions). 

Since she was staying overnight at a friend's house after the midnight premiere, in the morning she took all her stuff to school, including costume (they dressed up after school for the movie).  On the bus, she was getting teased for carrying her wand - until one of the seniors (whom she didn't know - she's a "minor 9er" - in 9th grade), turned around, pulled out and waved his wand and said "Hey, me too!!". 

It sounds like the midnight premiere was a good party, DD and her friends had fun. They returned safely and she was a little tired the next day, but not really worse for wear. 

[UnschoolnMa]

Heck yes, I say. My kids are unschoolers and grown-ish, but I would have let them go and skip school the next day if that was what they wanted. :)