MORGANTOWN — Nationwide, Marvel fans are feeling the hype around the new “Avengers: Endgame” movie slated for release today.
Between memes and fans begging their friends not to spoil the film on social media, movie theater employees are ready to tackle larger-than-normal crowds when the doors open to the public.
Oshanna Thomas, a manager at AMC Classic in Morgantown Mall, said when theater staff finds out their getting a movie with a big following, they prepare schedules, order the appropriate amount of snacks and drinks and have a team meeting.
“We plan a hustle, we’re hustling basically. We plan it out. We just take it day by day,” she said.
As of Wednesday evening, she said the theater pre-sold around 500-600 tickets. The movie premieres at 6 p.m. today.
AMC Classic is showing the movie seven times this evening, including once in 3-D.
Thomas is not a fan of the movies, but said she expects older adults to be the bulk of the audience.
“They’ve been following it so long, and now they’re bringing every character to life. Now they have their favorite characters in one, so yeah everybody’s excited for it,” she said.
The story is the same at Regal Morgantown Stadium 12, across town in Granville. Manager Alecsandra Vac said before such a movie comes out, the theater’s employees will have a screening. She said tickets are basically sold out, and 1,200 people are expected to be coming through the doors. Regal is showing the movie 10 times tonight in five theaters. Half of those are sold out, according to a ticket-purchasing website. Regal is also showing the film in 3-D, three times.
“It’s gonna be a pretty big movie,” she said.
Vac is a big fan of the movie. She said with the way the film ended last time (no spoilers), fans are eager to see what happens next. It’s also a long-running series. People have come to see every movie starting with “Iron Man.”
“I just think it’s something that everybody’s grown up with, then everybody loves the Marvel comics,” she said.
Some people show up in costume. She said it’s cute to see little fans come in, in their costumes. However, not every outfit is theater-friendly.
“Somebody came and they had built the Loki horns. We had to tell him to take it off, so people could see,” she said.
Even area comic shops are seeing Avengers fans come in for their superhero fix. Kaleb Davis, a manager at Four Horseman Comics, said that franchise itself is really old — going back 80 years.
“This is supposed to be the climax of everything, that’s really the big pull,” he said.
He said in the last couple years, the prices of the comics have gone up, due to the popularity. The store has an Iron Man comic for sale that’s around $500. Thanos, a character from the movies, had a comic book release this week as well, he said.
Tyler Wells, who works at Comic Paradise Plus, in Fairmont, sacrificed surprise so he could get ahead of comic book speculators.
“A week ago, a video leaked that was a three-minute compilation of the big scenes in ‘Endgame,’ ” he said. “It was subtitled, so it was nowhere from around here. They take literal panels [from comics] and bring them to life. … So I watched and pulled books related to that, that are $3 this week but will be at least $15 soon. It’s crazy how much the market fluctuates. It’s just like the stock market. … But you have to know what’s happening or someone can take advantage.”
While there’s no guarantee the leaked footage truly represents the film, Wells said it doesn’t dampen his excitement.
“It’s going to be an amazing movie,” he said. “It’s what everybody’s been waiting for.”
Co-worker Greg Hayhurst, however, is having none of it — which is why there are “no spoilers” signs posted all over the Fairmont store.
“I’ve been watching as few trailers as possible,” he said. “I saw the end of ‘Infinity War,’ that’s all I need to know going into it. … I try to speculate as little as possible.”
That’s because, he said, watching the films brings him the same sense of joy that many get visiting the place where he works.
“People walk in, and it’s like being a kid for them,” he said. “I love it, but at the end of the day it’s still work for me. But going to those movies makes me feel that way.”
Twitter @DominionPostWV
