Students have an opportunity to see films months before they are released on Blu-ray, DVD and streaming websites.
Every other Monday at 8 p.m. — with the exception of a special screening on Halloween — in Baker Center Theatre, the Campus Involvement Center will screen films that were released in theaters throughout the past few months.
The CIC showed Central Intelligence on Aug. 29 and Finding Dory on Sept. 12. Megan McCarthy, the assistant director of student activities at the CIC, said Central Intelligence drew a crowd of approximately 100 people, and Finding Dory attracted around 300. She added that about 50 to 60 people were turned away at the door for the screening of Finding Dory.
“We had families coming in, we had students, we had people in their pajamas with Finding Dory stuffed animals,” McCarthy said. “That one was phenomenal.”
Jasmine Robinson, a sophomore studying exercise physiology, said she wanted to attend the screening of Finding Dory “to see how many people showed up.” She added that it was a good turnout, and people had to sit on the floor.
“I’ve never been a part of an audience that is so involved in the movie,” Robinson said.
The CIC rents the films on a weekly basis from a company called SWANK Motion Pictures, McCarthy said. According to SWANK’s website, there are different categories of films specific to the setting of the show. The CIC chose films tailored for college campuses and SWANK helped them pick which movies are popular among college-aged people, McCarthy said.
When it came to choosing the films, McCarthy wanted to have a multitude of genres. The movies they plan to show range from comedy to drama to action.
“Our goal is to welcome any type of movie fan ... that’s why we’re trying to switch things up (and show) different genres,” McCarthy said. “My first focus was making sure we had a good mixture and it wasn’t the same every other week.”
Heather Griffiths, a freshman studying creative writing, said it was fun to watch Finding Dory with different people. Griffiths plans to attend another screening because she wants to see Bad Moms — which will play on Oct. 24 — she said.
The CIC pays differing prices for the films depending on how popular the movie is, McCarthy said. She added that most of the new releases are more expensive.
“For us it’s completely worth (spending the money) — especially this week seeing how many people showed up for Finding Dory,” McCarthy said. “(It was) such a great turnout for us that we are so excited we’re doing this program again because, obviously, it’s getting some attention.”
McCarthy said the CIC did an event similar a few years ago.
“We brought it back this year because ... we like to have regularly scheduled programs during the week and we always want students to have something to come to,” she said. “We definitely want to continue it for the spring semester as well.”
