It was a chaotic scene Thursday night in front of the Malco Theater in Jonesboro.
Avengers: Endgame was sold out across the board at every screen Thursday in Jonesboro. No parking spots were left and many patrons of the late showings said they were parking at restaurants nearby and walking to the movie theater.
“I parked at Wendys and walked over,” one man said.
Another couple said they parked at Candela’s Mexican Cantina.
With a line wrapped around both sides of the building just to get in, eager Marvel fans struggled to get in to see their movie of choice.
“I’m here to see Dumbo at 10:10,” said one man, joking. Many in line laughed.
Malco is currently renovating half of their facility, taking up valuable parking and movie real estate for a blockbuster event like this.
But with the theaters crowded to capacity in the movie complex, once the film began, everyone in attendance was glued to the screen.
Without spoiling the movie, it is a huge journey. Three hours worth of film spans the Marvel franchise from Iron-Man (2008), to Captain America: The First Avenger (2009), all the way to the heels of Captain Marvel (2019).
If you’ve never been to a sold out movie for a premiere, it is almost always a memorable experience. The Jonesboro crowd cheered and applauded during the third act of the film. There were also emotional moments which elicited sniffles from the crowd.
When the ashes finally settled, Disney-owned Marvel’s cinematic masterpiece was complete: an epic multi-film portrait of supernatural people with very human complexities learning to be better, one brave leap at a time.
But as moviegoers exited Malco on Thursday, this weekend’s viewers gained valuable foresight: arrive especially early, buy your tickets online, be ready for a mess, and chaos…but enjoy the movie once you get inside.
“It’s worth all of this!” Shouted an exuberant Joey Perry, as he exited from an earlier showing with his family.
Thursday’s preview set a record $60 million gross. In two days of international release, the film has earned $305 million. BoxOfficeMojo.com reports that it stands to break a litany of records.
From what NEA residents saw Thursday, even the time stone won’t change that.
*An earlier version of this story incorrectly asserted that Captain Marvel had high-heels. She does not. In fact, she is the very first Marvel female hero to not wear heels. We regress the error and regret it immensely.
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