We did FMN and it was a total blast! We are in a school of 410 students and we had 400 people show up for our family movie night.
Ours was totally free (I believe you are not allowed to charge an admission-it details it in the packet you get from ptotoday) although we may ask for donations next time or at least charge for popcorn. We gave everyone a free bag of popcorn and McDonald's donated igloo coolers and their orange drink along with cups.
We watched Shark Tale and everyone seemed to just love it. Because we had no idea how many people would come we made up a flyer with a return slip where parents could tell us who would be coming. We then made up a ticket on the computer that we sent home with each student. They brought their tickets in for the movie and we put them in a bag. During an intermission we stopped the movie and then drew a name out of the bag and that student got to take the Shark Tale movie home at the end of the night. That was a huge hit.
Some things we will do next time are to try and do it on a Saturday and have two matinees (for example, 10 a.m. showing and a 2 p.m. showing) just to make the numbers more manageable. 400 people in our gym was crowded and hot and yet people still didn't complain. We will also ask for donations to cover the cost of the license and the movie giveaway. We will probably charge for extra bags of popcorn although it was very nice not having to worry about any of that.
We made our popcorn up the morning of the movie night and that way, once we got everyone inside, the volunteers (there were 4 of us) were able to watch the movie with their kids.
Please email me if you have any questions. I think everyone should do FMN. It was great fun and I have heard nothing bad, only good.
Anniegirl made a great suggestion...computer printed movie tickets. This is a wonderful way to monitor the amount of people who will attend the event. I would love to see a copy of this ticket. I could definitely use some ideas for this. Thanks!
We had at least 100 people show up for each one we have done until the last one.
The staff decided it would be better to show older movies since the kids have seen the same ones over and over - we had 10 families show up.
What type of movies are you watching? Nemo and Holes were a success for us. I want to show Shark Tale at the end of the month, they want to show the original Peter Pan.
My opinion is that the kids may have seen the newer movies, but they still get excited and want to see them. What is your opinion.
I just wanted to make a quick note that if you are renting from one of the mail in places or even blockbuster, you are not authorized to show them to an audience. That's why you have to purchase the license agreement. They really are quite affordable, especially if you take into consideration the cost you would have to pay if you get fined for not having a license to show your movie.
I also think FMN is one of the best events you can offer. It's easy to run, it really is. We rented a popcorn machine and purchased all the popcorn, bags etc that went with it. We bought mini bottles of water from Costco and had them chilled for the event. We had 200 chairs set up in the GYM/Auditorium. We happen to have a huge roll down screen and the music teacher and technology teacher were so supportive, they set up the DVD player, speakers and projector for us and tested it days in advance and the day before and day of the event.
We also sent home a flyer weeks in advance with 4 choices for the kids to pick their first and second choice for what they'd like to see.
Then we sent home computer printed movie tickets to each child as their entrance. THey came out wonderfull. And the ticket announced the movie to be shown that won "Air Bud - 7th Inning Fetch".
We budgetted $250 for the event and didn't charge a cent for admission, we just asked for a donation of a non-perishable item for our local food pantry.
This time around when we have another free event, we are asking for donations of change for the Tsunami Relief Fund and donations of toiletries, magazines and phone cards for the troops. We've had an excellent response and people show so much generosity.
I think FMN is a great night for a Friday night. The kids are asking when we're having another so we're considering getting rid of Family Dance party night (which is always hectic) and replacing it with another movie night. Especially with so many G rated movies coming out on DVD soon.
Do you room to accomodate all the families and all their kids? We had to limit ticket sales because our school is so big. Even if you don't charge admission, you might want to issue a limited number of free tickets first come/first served if you're concerned about seating. Plus it will give you a better idea of how many people to plan for (i.e. amount of refreshments needed).
At the end of the movie, before all the families had left, the volunteers started folding up the chairs. The remaining families must have felt a little guilty because they all pitched in. The custodians loved it - 200 chairs put away in about 10 minutes.
