Wynnsong Cinemas in Johnston Sees Four Times the Normal Crowds on Thanksgiving

People craving something to do after stuffing themselves with turkey and pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving headed in droves to the in Johnston for evening movies.

So much so that three movies — “Twilight: Breaking Dawn,”  “J. Edgar” and “Jack and Jill” — sold out for the showings that started between 6:40 and 7 p.m. Each of the shows was in a 76-seat theater, explained employees of Wynnsong. And while “Twilight: Breaking Dawn” didn’t sell out for the 7:15 p.m. show in the large, 269-seat theater, it was at least two-thirds full.

Amy O’Rourke of Greenfield and 10 other family members were among the movie-goers for “Twilight: Breaking Dawn.”

“This is the beginning of our Black Friday,” she said. While Black Friday shopping is a yearly tradition, this is the first year the group of family members decided to hit a movie on Thanksgiving evening before the shopping began, she said.

“It was the teenagers’ idea to drag us to the movie,” O’Rourke said.

The plan for the evening was to hit Walmart at 10 p.m. after the movie, Kohl’s at midnight and other stores as Black Friday progresses.

Going to a movie on Thanksgiving is a family tradition for the Leahy family, who had a Thanksgiving Day feast earlier in the day with family in Urbandale. Michael Leahy had come up from Missouri and his grandmother, Beverly Leahy, had come in from Cedar Falls along with a number of other family members. They were all headed into the Wynnsong to see “J. Edgar,” but soon learned the movie was sold out.

“We’re going to head over to Jordan Creek and see if we can get in there,” Beverly said. Eight family members were planning on seeing a movie together.

Bob and Evelyn Schirm of Urbandale, and their granddaughter, Dani, were lucky enough to get tickets and were waiting in the lobby for “J. Edgar” to begin. “Everyone who came for Thanksgiving left and we decided we needed to do something,” Bob explained.

His wife quipped, “It was either go to a movie or the Festival of Trees. We came here,” Evelyn said.

The family of Saundra and Terry Bickford of Ankeny were hustling into the theater to see the "Muppets" movie. Trinity, 6, and Colyn, 5, along with their little sister, Siobhan, 2, were excited about the prospect.

Saundra said the family doesn’t go to movies often. They had planned to go to Disney on Ice, but it didn’t work out with their schedule, so a movie was a second choice.

Mike and Amy Beerends of Madrid were meeting two family members at Wynnsong. “It hasn’t been a tradition for us, but for a brother,” Amy said.

With all the Thanksgiving Day movie-goers comes the need for more popcorn and help. Zach Severin, manager of the theater complex, said a holiday like Thanksgiving that falls on a weeknight pushes attendance up by four times the normal amount. “Usually we have one person behind the (concession) counter and one person selling tickets, but tonight we have seven people behind the counter and four people selling tickets,” he said.

Extra popcorn is popped in advance of the evening shows, and more cups and lids are placed behind the counter for use. Otherwise, it is business as usual, Zach said.