How Many Times...? (1 Viewer)

[Sultanofcinema]

My wife always tells me not to state the amount of times I have seen certain films in the theater as I might be "put away".
I dare not tell. The repeat showings/viewings are THEATRICALLY ONLY". Luckily I had access to double features during the 60's and 70's if I wanted to catch the movie I loved at the bottom of the double bill, access to NY's revival cinemas and many friends who held personal 35 and 16MM prints of films I loved. So it's time to own up, we are all film fans, you're secret is safe with us. Tell us how many times you were able to see your favorite film in theater mode.

 

[Joe Wong]

5 times for Aliens
4 times for Saving Private Ryan

No double features.

 

[Tino]

My wife always tells me not to state the amount of times I have seen certain films in the theater as I might be "put away".
I dare not tell. The repeat showings/viewings are THEATRICALLY ONLY". Luckily I had access to double features during the 60's and 70's if I wanted to catch the movie I loved at the bottom of the double bill, access to NY's revival cinemas and many friends who held personal 35 and 16MM prints of films I loved. So it's time to own up, we are all film fans, you're secret is safe with us. Tell us how many times you were able to see your favorite film in theater mode.

You first!

 

[Tino]

For me it was Superman 1978 and Titanic 1997.

I’d say about 20 theatrical viewings each. Titanic is the clear winner tho.

 

[Sultanofcinema]

Tino,
just a sampling for you. Thunderball since 65, including revivals , reissues and friends with 35's=225. Same goes for You Only Live Twice since '67. Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid since '69 and reissues in '74=89. Many of the Bonds from the 60's get awards for 75-80 times.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Over 50 times for Star Wars, back before this "A New Hope" business. This entails multiple viewings over the spate of re-releases that took place during late '70s between the release in '77 and the re-release in '82.

A) This was before home video.

B) Living in Texas without Air Conditioning during the summer (back then) - a simple solution to cool off was to hit an afternoon showing on the weekend, sometimes Saturday and Sunday. "Well I don't see anything playing that catches my attention. I know - how about another showing of Star Wars?"

Over 20 times for The Empire Strikes Back (although it is now my favorite film in the original three). Return of the Jedi clocked in around 15 viewings.

- Walter.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Why does this thread have an Apple TV+ tag?

 

[Sultanofcinema]

Walter and Tino,
I would actually follow the Bonds from theater to theater, make arrangements with all of my friends so one kid's dad would take us Mon, another Tuesday and so on. I would go to every showing, every day to the point that the old woman in the sidewalk box-office at the Colonial Theater said to me one day "Don't you have anything better to do with your money?" I replied" it's my allowance and I'll do what I want with it." The Fearless Vampire Killers also rates high with original '67 showings, 81 reissue completed version and revivals at 70 some times.

 

[Alex...]

Alien (2003 Directors Cut) -3
Prometheus -4
Terminator 2 -3
Empire Strikes Back (97 Theatrical) -4

 

[Sultanofcinema]

Alien (2003 Directors Cut) -3
Prometheus -4
Terminator 2 -3
Empire Strikes Back (97 Theatrical) -4

Alex
Its nice you have discipline and restraint.

 

[TravisR]

I've seen Revenge Of The Sith a ridiculous 31 times in the theater (30 in 2005 and then again on during a seven Star Wars movie marathon in 2015). At the time, it was the last Star Wars movie so I just kept going all summer.

With the two re-releases of Titanic, I've seen that 20 times in a theater.

I saw Once Upon A Time In Hollywood 17 times.

I've seen the other ten Star Wars movies anywhere from 10 to 15 times. And I'd guess that I've seen Jaws about a dozen times because it basically plays every summer at multiple theaters around me.

 

[Walter Kittel]

I've seen Revenge Of The Sith a ridiculous 31 times in the theater (30 in 2005 and then again on during a seven Star Wars movie marathon in 2015). At the time, it was the last Star Wars movie so I just kept going all summer.

I always sort of felt like Lucas had finally gotten his Star Wars mojo back with Revenge of the Sith and then it was - "Wait! No more Star Wars films? Damn!" (Well, at least for a while.)

- Walter.

 

[Matt Hough]

As a kid I saw both Sleeping Beauty and The Parent Trap (the original, of course) five times each.

I think as an adult, I paid to see The Sting three times.

 

[Sultanofcinema]

Hey Matt,
Cool story of how I got to see and advanced screening of The Sting. They had a radio contest where you had to write on a postcard why you wanted to see the film. All I wrote was " I want to see if they make it this time". Got private advanced screening and was allowed to invite one friend to the UA Wayne Theater in Wayne , N.J and low and behold the trailer stated one week later, "Maybe this time they'll make it!

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I've seen Revenge Of The Sith a ridiculous 31 times in the theater (30 in 2005 and then again on during a seven Star Wars movie marathon in 2015). At the time, it was the last Star Wars movie so I just kept going all summer.

I don’t have a count but I basically did the same thing.

The big news that summer was that a pristine copy leaked online in the early days of internet video sharing - someone from a caption house leaked a working copy used to created subtitles for non-English speaking territories, so it had timecode stamped onto it but was otherwise perfect. I’d watch that copy over and over (sometimes starting one night and finishing the next), and what would happen was I’d be watching it in my little apartment bedroom and think “wait, it’s playing down the block from me, let’s see if I can make a showtime” and just go and do that. Then the movie finished it’s run, I kept watching the leaked copy, moved, and discovered I had a discount second run theater showing it near the new apartment..and the cycle started anew. That leaked copy wound up Jedi-mind-tricking me into going to the theaters again and again.

For repertory films, my winner is “2001: A Space Odyssey” - I have no idea what the total number is but if a theater is playing it in 70mm, I’ll go. If it’s in 35mm, I’ll probably still go. If it’s the DCP, I’ll probably go too. I wouldn’t even know how to begin counting at this point.

 

[Sultanofcinema]

Josh,
I went to ANY film that was playing in 70MM or a 70 blowup. Quest For Fire was one, loved it and it seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth. I also remember talking with friends and we wanted to see 35MM films as many times as possible first run because we knew that a few months later the prints would be beat up. Saw a reissue of Moonraker and From Russia With Love in the early 80's and the precredit sequence lasted 2 min. it was so beat up, but...it was Technicolor.

 

[Jake Lipson]

My favorite film of all time is Aladdin, which came out when I was four years old. My family went twice. I distinctly remember that we were going to go a third time but didn't due to a medical emergency when we were supposed to go. Being four, I lacked understanding of this at the time. I didn't really care about the emergency because it wasn't me who had it. I was just mad that I didn't get to see the movie again.

I would absolutely love to see it in a theater again. But it has never received a major theatrical re-release. It was supposed to have an IMAX run prior to its DVD release in 2004, but that was cancelled. Earlier, The IMAX re-release of Beauty and the Beast had made $25 million from 68 theaters and The Lion King had made $15 million from 66 theaters. This was back when IMAX was mostly operating in museums and prior to their constant association with blockbusters that is commonplace today. I would consider those returns successful for limited re-releases of films that were widely owned on VHS, but Disney didn't think so and scrapped the plan to re-release Aladdin.

Given the conditions of the theatrical marketplace now and how much the company is focusing on streaming, I'm not holding my breath for a future re-release. I would certainly go to it if I am ever able to though.

The film I've seen more times than any other in a single release is Slumdog Millionaire. First of all, I just loved that movie. I think it is absolutely terrific on every level. I saw it three times at home on winter break from college. That spring semester was particularly unpleasant and stressful for me, so I saw it three more times while at school. I kept going back to it because I found it to be a joyful respite. By the end of its run, I had seen it six times. I even went to the theater on the last day of its run to see the very last screening a couple days after it came out on Blu-ray. I was the only person in the theater for that showtime. I had actually paid for it seven times but wasn't able to get to one of the screenings.

I asked the theater manager if they could give me the poster because the run was ending. I was told that they were required to send it back to the studio to be destroyed, but they could "lose" it.

I had it on the wall in my college dorm after that. We weren't allowed to put holes in the wall, so it had to be hung with sticky putty. All my posters would occasionally fall down and need to be rehung. Then everything had to come down at the end of each school year and be rehung a few months later when I would come back, even though I was in the same room the entire time. By the time I graduated, all this had gotten to the posters and they had to be thrown out. I'm glad I had Slumdog with me in my dorm, but I also regret having to throw it away and that I don't have it anymore. Later, the theater "lost" the Hugo poster. I had that one framed and kept it at home rather than the dorm in order to prevent similar damage to it.

If you count re-releases, it is theoretically possible that The Lion King could be tied with Slumdog at six. I don't remember how many times I saw it in 1994, but it was probably at least twice. I saw it once in IMAX from the 2002 release and twice in 2011 when it was most recently re-released. So that would be five, which would be one short of Slumdog. It could be tied f I saw it more times in 1994 than I think I did. But I was very young then so I wasn't counting at that point. It would definitely tie (or probably pass) Slumdog if they re-release it again at some point, but I doubt that will happen.