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Avengers: Endgame is less than a month away, and by the time you read this, tickets at your local theater may already be sold out. Tickets went on sale on April 2 and some sellers’ websites and apps crashed, apparently due to the high volume of people clamoring to buy them. The demand is understandable: Endgame is the culmination of 11 years’ and 21 films’ worth of Marvel moviemaking, as well as the bookend to 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, a $2 billion movie with a game-changing cliffhanger.
To help meet that demand, AMC is offering a Faustian option to Marvel fans who may not already have an Endgame ticket or who want to see it early: The theater chain is hosting a 60-hour Marvel movie marathon starting on April 23 and featuring all 21 of Marvel Studios’ previous films back to back, then capping things off with Endgame — allowing attendees to see it about an hour earlier than the first Thursday screenings of the movie. AMC’s official site has been down since ticket sales began:
We want everyone to be able to grab their Avengers: Endgame tickets, but it looks like we've gotten Thanos' snap. We're working on getting things back up and running, and in the meantime, please keep trying our website and our partner sites!
— AMC Guest Services (@AMCHelps) April 2, 2019
How to survive a Marvel movie marathon
I can attest that attending a Marvel movie marathon is a test of endurance, will, and mental toughness. One does not simply watch dozens of hours of Marvel movies in a row and leave the theater the same person.
But for those who are willing and even excited to see Endgame in this fashion, I can offer a few tips from my soul-shattering 29-ish-hour Marvel marathon in 2015:
- Arrive at the theater very early and get a good seat, as you will be parked in this thing for more than two days. (Some movie theaters have seats are close to outlets, which is a plus if you’ll want to charge your phone.)
- Bring a toothbrush and deodorant — the theater will begin to smell like stinky humans after about six hours, maybe sooner if it’s a warmer, more humid day. You should do your part to not contribute.
- Also bring a refillable water bottle or thermos. The theater will obviously have soda on offer, but even though it’s delicious, it’s ... really bad for you.
- Comfortable soft pants and a hoodie are a must.
- Be prepared to endure an emcee. No matter how awesome they are, they will be obnoxious after 12 hours — everyone is obnoxious after 12 hours.
- Before you go, have an idea of which Marvel movies you don’t like and want to sleep through.
- Regarding sleep: Sunglasses and noise-canceling headphones are vital. It’s very difficult to nap during an action movie in a theater, but these can help you snooze through one of the bad Thor movies.
- Forge alliances with your fellow moviegoers — you’ll appreciate having someone to watch your stuff and save your seat while you take a bathroom break.
- Pretzel bites with cheese sauce are a risky bet against your digestive system.
- Choose a theater near a mall — past a certain point, eating movie theater food will taste like chewing on the color brown, no matter how many options there are. A mall within walking distance will give you some options.
- During my marathon, filmgoers were given wristband and allowed to exit and reenter the theater. That policy may change depending on the theater one attends, but leaving for extended periods of time (beyond the time it takes to find a bite to eat) might also lessen the full experience — after all, you did sign up for a marathon.
Do with this information what you will. And if you decide to undertake the 60 or so hours of Marvel movies to see Endgame early, godspeed. As the Avengers would say, “whatever it takes.”
