And the top 10 moments that had the audience going wild:
10. Biggest laugh: Between Elizabeth Banks’ Effie, Woody Harrelson’s Haymitch and Stanley Tucci’s Caesar, there was no shortage of comic relief – and the crowd made that wildly evident, as almost every line by these three fan favorites was delivered to raucous laughter and theater-wide hysterics. But oddly enough, the biggest laugh came not from Effie’s colorful musings or Caesar’s mugging to the camera, but rather, it was Haymitch’s written nudge — “You call that a kiss?” — that busted guts.
9. Most inappropriate entrance applause: Peeta’s selection at the reaping, with a crowd of relieved District 12 boys revealing the baker-slash-painter after his name is called, was the first sign of a booming crowd welcome (it’s clear which side of the love triangle the theater was rooting for). Amid the gravitas of the situation onscreen, one girl on Team Peeta even crassly called out for Capitol-caliber coitus.
8. Most appropriate entrance applause: The character to receive the warmest crowd welcome was Lenny Kravitz’s stylist Cinna, whose debut in the Remake Center drew an absolute eruption from the girls in the audience. I’d wager that if Team Cinna shirts were readily available, they’d far outsell any others.
7. Most polarizing moment: Katniss’ grand entrance in the tribute parade – where she earns the nickname “The Girl on Fire” – was the movie’s first big moment that franchise fans were dying to see interpreted. So how’d it go over? As the music swelled, the chariot rolled and the bright artificial flames engulfed Katniss and Peeta, the moment sent the audience into a frenzy of cheers… in one theater. In another, the hotly-anticipated effect fell totally flat, with some whispering that the big moment was utterly anti-climactic.
6. Biggest gross-out: The bloody Cornucopia battle got some quiet murmurs, but the sharp intake of breath through gritted teeth during extreme close-ups of Katniss and Peeta’s gory leg wounds was unmistakable when 200 people did it at once.
5. Loudest cheer: Every franchise action movie has its share of saves-the-day scenes, andThe Hunger Games‘ best-received of such moments came when Thresh rescues an ailing Katniss, who was about to become deli meat at the knife-wielding hand of Clove. When he violently disposes of Clove and tells Katniss, “Just this time, Twelve, for Rue,” the flood of satisfaction was palpable, even at 2:00 a.m.
4. Best scare: The entire theater was waiting for those vicious mutts to burst through the woods and break the eerie silence of Katniss and Peeta wandering at night — and it was stillscary enough to catch the audience off guard, resulting in a chorus of shrikes and screams, and a few folks literally jumping out of their seats.
3. Biggest shock: Cato’s vengeance on an absent-minded tribute after he accidentally allows Katniss to blow up the alliance’s supplies was, in a word, horrific. With no other sound but the snapping of the tribute’s neck, Cato showed that his temper tantrums are something you don’t want to be on the receiving end of.
2. Loudest sobbing: From the first second that Rue appeared on screen, those in the audience who knew what would eventually befall her were preparing themselves for the worst. Though she earned cheers for her wit and for coming to the rescue of a tree-trapped Katniss, the most undisputedly touching moment in the entire film was her death, which sparked a range of reactions from quiet weeps to full-on wails of grief. In one theater, a girl distributed tissues to other sobbing moviegoers, and when Katniss finally breaks down, so, too, did the crowd.
1. And the moment everyone was talking about: Katniss and Peeta’s kiss in the cave was the climax of the film’s love storyline, and for Team Peeta fans, it was a gratifying moment. When the camera switches to a shot of Gale watching the romance unfold, though, the romantic tension had the audience making their “oh, snap!” face. That reaction said it all. A love triangle may be secondary to this franchise’s plot, but if anything was clear through bleary midnight eyes, it was that audiences are loving the entangled romance of Katniss, Peeta and Gale. We saw both theaters pick their sides, and it looks like fans are ready to throw down over their recommendation for Katniss’s heart. Since poor Gale doesn’t even get a shot with Katniss until Catching Fire, it’s very apparent that the love triangle will heat up until it catches fire, too. Things are going to get interesting, Hunger Games fans. Whose side are YOU on?
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