Maybe I’m out of the loop since we only watch something like 6-10 movies in the theater a year, but how long have movies started in the nine o’clock hour on Fridays? I didn’t realize most/all new screenings started before 11am here locally. As the screenshot from the newly designed Fandango above indicates feature films like Spider-man 3 which opened at midnight have five screenings before noon and a few other movies start before 11am too. I can see screening feature films first thing in the morning, but all new films? Are they expecting the Monday-Friday crowd to skip work or school to see the film early?

Or trying to jack up gross receipts, perhaps? I’m sure they’d love to break the opening week record receipts with Spider-man, especially since the budget flirted with $300 million. That’s a lot of bones to rack up before getting into the black.

Prior to publishing this post I did some checking in the archives, remembering catching the earliest showing of Star Wars III in May 2005. My son and I watched that one at 9am, even earlier than Spidey’s newest tangled web of action, and I pointed out being surprised by the theater being 70% full that early in the morning. I don’t remember any other movies playing that early, nor ever seeing any other movies that early, so I’m curious if this nine o’clock hour Friday thing for all new movies is commonplace these days?

I’m sure in some places like Nevada where cities never sleep earlier showtimes like these are regular occurences. In Puyallup, Washington USA I wouldn’t expect to see a movie like The Invisible for breakfast, would you in your city?

As for our family seeing Spider-man 3? We’re still planning on catching that either Saturday or Sunday afternoon morning. While I’m looking forward to the film, I’m not as anxious about it as I was Spider-man 2. While I normally stay away from movie critics reviews for feature films before watching them I couldn’t resist checking Rotten Tomatoes for Spider-man 3. It’s not exactly burning up the vines with a 64% fresh rating and 45% by the cream of the crop reviewers.

• Review: United 93
• Ranking the Rocky flicks including Rocky Balboa
• Get your baseball fix in 3D at the local theater in 2007
• Predicting The Simpsons Movie will pass Shrek 2 in worldwide gross receipts
• Howard Stern: “I would bank on [Spider-man 3] making more money than Titanic”
• Spider-man 3 gets a C+