Popcorn Primer

Now more than ever, Americans’ love affair with the movies is a seasonal relationship. Nearly 40% of last year’s record $1.4 billion in ticket sales was generated during what Hollywood (if not your child’s academic calendar) considers summer: mid-May through Labor Day.

The reason for this seasonal surge can be summed up in one word: “more,” as in:

* More kids: School’s out, and teenagers are the most frequent moviegoers, says Jim Kozak of the National Assn. of Theater Owners, and their numbers have been on the rise since 1991.

* More theaters: 31,865 movie screens dotted the domestic landscape at the end of 1997, a 21% increase over five years earlier. People have really taken to the multiplex concept, Kozak says. “They like the variety of films at one theater and the staggered show times, where the same movie can start every half-hour.”

* More big movies: Hollywood usually pulls out its big box office guns--Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Jim Carrey, Sandra Bullock, etc.--during the summer months.

But more isn’t always better, especially if all 24 screens showing “Godzilla” at your neighborhood 50-plex are sold out, and you have to settle for a bad $8 seat behind someone with big hair at a late showing of a movie you wouldn’t watch on cable eight months from now.

The best way to elevate your summer moviegoing experience is to have a plan. You might want to seek out stadium seating, where it’s impossible for towering hairdos to ruin the view. Or avoid waiting in line for a blockbuster by ordering tickets through MovieFone, practically a prerequisite to nabbing a seat for a movie’s big opening night. (About 9,500 Los Angeles moviegoers called the service during one peak hour in early May, according to MovieFone statistics.)

On a budget? A theater in the Antelope Valley shows current films once a week for 50 cents a person, the average price of a ticket around 1950. It’s almost worth the drive just to say you got the family in the door for two bucks.

You’re more likely to pay at least $6.50 for the privilege of moviegoing in prime time, and that’s without a trip to the snack bar, which will set the average patron back another $2-plus a head, based on figures kept by Newport Beach-based Edwards Cinemas.

The evolution of snack bars into cinema cafes, where the hot-dog stand cozies up to the espresso bar, has helped sales increase dramatically in recent years, says Skip Stefansen, Los Angeles-based president-elect of the National Assn. of Concessionaires.

Assuming you plan to line up with the rest of ‘em, we offer 20 tidbits to help you thrive, instead of just survive, this summer at the movies.

1. On Beyond ‘Zilla: From Seal to Newport Beach, Orange County has six theaters regularly offering independent and foreign films. They screen seven days a week at Edwards University, Irvine; Edwards Town Center, Costa Mesa; the Port Theatre and Edwards Lido, Newport Beach; Edwards South Coast Village 3, Santa Ana; and the Bay Theatre, Seal Beach. Mainstream cinemas such as Edwards Brea Plaza often include the increasingly popular pix in their mix.

2: Least-crowded showing: “The 9 p.m. screening of ‘Barney,’ ” jokes an executive with one national chain. Many exhibitors say it’s the midmorning first show of the day. Or any screening, even a Saturday night premiere, at Edwards Family Four Cinema in Fountain Valley. It’s one of Edwards’ older, tattier theaters, but the lack of line is worth a trip to what appears to be this undiscovered secret, a quiet mini-mall.

3: And most crowded: Geography rules to a certain extent when trying to figure out which show will have lines around the block. “In Century City, you’re going to get an audience predisposed to the 8 p.m. show,” says one local exhibitor.

In the summer, it’s a tossup between the 8 p.m. show and the last matinee around 5 p.m., according to the Edwards chain. At some theaters in the San Fernando Valley, it’s likely to be the 10 p.m. screening populated by “young adults,” he adds.

4: New heights: Stadium seating, the tiered design that offers unobstructed views of the big screen, is coming soon to a newly constructed theater near you. It’s at such relatively new Edwards theaters as Metro Pointe Stadium 12 in Costa Mesa, Edwards Brea Stadium 12 Cinemas in Brea, and Aliso Viejo Stadium 20, as well as at Edwards 21 Megaplex in Irvine. Other sites: Century Stadium 25 in Orange and AMC Fullerton 20 (in 12 of the auditoriums).

5: Number of previews you’ll sit through: It used to be three or four previews--also known as trailers--now it’s five or six, according to exhibitors.

“Everybody is kind of going to five, because the demand and the policing of movie previews by studios is getting as rabid and competitive as booking the movie itself,” according to one exhibitor. Between commercials--including, yes, the ubiquitous L.A. Times ad--trailers, info about the sound system and requests from the theater not to talk during the movie, you’ll watch 10 to 15 minutes of filler before the feature starts.

6: The trailer police: If the person next to you is taking notes during the previews, he could be a “trailer checker” sent out by the studio to make sure the theater is showing the trailers it agreed to. You’ll probably see two trailers by the studio that made the feature attraction, part of the unwritten protocol between exhibitors and studios.

7: Battle of the big screens: At 37 feet high and 86 feet wide, the Pacific Cinerama Dome in L.A. still lays claim to being the biggest commercial first-run screen on the West Coast. Runner-up: the Big Newport, the 30-by-80-foot screen at the Edwards Newport Cinema in Newport Beach.

8: Kid pix: Parents, circle these dates for openers of the summer’s big child-friendly fare: “Mulan,” June 19; “Dr. Dolittle,” June 26; “Small Soldiers” and “Madeline” July 10; “The Parent Trap,” July 29. Edwards Aliso Viejo Stadium 20 screens all the latest kid flicks, and every armrest lifts up so sleepy heads can nap on Mom’s lap. Fast-food restaurants, including a Burger King with a big indoor play area, abound in the surrounding strip mall.

9: For crying out loud: Have really little ones but still want to catch a flick? Take your infant or toddler to the movies at Edwards Rancho Niguel 8 in Laguna Niguel, which has two “crying rooms,” soundproof booths where you and your active little ones can take in a movie without worrying about the wrath of other moviegoers.

10: Date with a real dinosaur: Four drive-ins remain in Los Angeles County, down from more than 40 in 1965. None of the remaining 97 drive-in theaters in California can be found in the San Fernando Valley or in Orange County.

11: The audience is plugging its ears: Loudest movie of the summer? Make that “sound enhanced. ‘Loud’ is a bad word,” says Andrea Galvin, a Columbia spokeswoman. “But it’s ‘Godzilla,’ no question. You have Godzilla literally tearing through Manhattan. He’s crushing buildings, stepping on cats.” Other candidates for cotton: “Armageddon” and “Lethal Weapon IV.”

12: Hot summer matchups: June 19: “Mulan” vs. “The X-Files”; July 10: “Lethal Weapon IV” vs. “Small Soldiers” vs. “Madeline”; July 24: “Saving Private Ryan” vs. “Dead Man on Campus.”

13: A kernel of news: The trend toward low-fat popcorn that swept through Southern California theaters four years ago after reports about the artery-clogging effects of oil-popped popcorn is largely MIA. It’s part of a national move back to popcorn prepared in coconut oil, which gives it the taste and aroma of movie popcorn, concessionaire Stefansen says.

14: Is that kosher?: No, but Edwards Newport Cinemas in Newport Beach serves New York-style hot dogs. That means they come steamed or grilled with what Edwards defines as “Gotham-esque toppings”: chili, onions, sauerkraut and jalapenos.

15: Water world: One item you probably wouldn’t have found at the snack bar five years ago: water for at least $2 a bottle. It’s part of the trend toward increased selection and availability of healthier items at the concession stand, Stefansen says.

16: Shortest wait for women’s room: In its newer theaters, AMC is putting in 50% more women’s stalls than the code requires. “You rarely see a line at a new AMC theater,” says Tony Adamson, an AMC spokesman. “We have fresh flowers in the ladies’ restroom and hand lotions.” For the men? “They’re normal. Nothing fancy.”

17: What you’ll pay: The average price of an adult movie ticket in Southern California is at least $2 higher than the national average admission price, which the Motion Picture Assn. of America says was $4.58 last year, but that’s based on an average of all admissions, including matinees. In West L.A., an AMC movie can set you back $7.75 per person; in Orange County and other areas, it falls to $6.75.

18: The cheap seats: Super Saver Cinema 7 in Seal Beach, which screens second-run movies, charges $2 for all shows, all the time. (It looks like a disco to boot.) Edwards’ Harbor Twin in Costa Mesa, Woodbridge in Irvine and Bristol in Santa Ana, all of which screen first-runs, are always $3. Teatro Fiesta, which shows double-feature mainstream films--often in Spanish with English subtitles--charges $3 for all shows on Thursday, otherwise $5.50 for adults and $3 for kids.

19: Big-footed openings: You can’t use inconvenient show times as a reason to miss “Godzilla,” which is playing on 7,200 screens around the country. In its opening week, the movie was shown 32 times on five screens at the Edwards 21 Megaplex in Irvine, where for much of the day you never have to wait more than 15 minutes to catch the monster act. Universal City’s Cineplex Odeon ran a close second, getting the box-office beast on seven screens 30 times a day.

20: Waiting for the video: If you miss a blockbuster while it’s in the theaters, you’ll be able to catch it on video as soon as four months after it premieres. The trend toward compressing the once-standard six-month window began with “Twister” in 1996 and continued with last year’s “Men in Black,” says Edward Luiag, director of research for the Encino-based Video Software Dealers Assn.

So, those videos of the big summer movies should hit stores just in time for . . . holiday movie season.

Valerie J. Nelson is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to Calendar.

Times staff writer Zan Dubin contributed to this report.