‘Twisters’ Hits Oklahoma Theaters: Local Moviegoers Snapping Up Tickets

Grace Evans survived one of the most devastating and lethal tornadoes in Oklahoma’s history. Back in 2013, a fierce, top-of-the-scale twister ravaged homes, tore through a school, and claimed the lives of 24 people in the small suburb of Moore.

A hospital and a bowling alley were among the casualties of that storm. However, a movie theater nearby remained unscathed. Nearly ten years later, Evans and her teenage daughter had no hesitation buying tickets for the blockbuster “Twisters” at the same theater.

“I was looking for that element of excitement and I guess drama and danger,” Evans said.

Her daughter, Charis Evans, also left the theater impressed. “It was very realistic. I was definitely frightened,” said the 15-year-old.

The overwhelming success of “Twisters” has captivated moviegoers in Oklahoma, especially in areas scarred by real-life tornadoes. Even before its theatrical release, Oklahoma officials rolled out the red carpet for the film’s production team, offering significant financial incentives to film in the state.

In its opening weekend, the action-packed film starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell earned an astounding $80.5 million from over 4,150 theaters across North America. Some of the largest audiences were from the tornado-prone Midwest.

The top-performing theater during opening weekend was the Regal Warren in Moore, which showed the film in 10 of its 17 auditoriums from 9 a.m. to midnight. According to John Stephens, the theater’s general manager, many moviegoers mentioned a special desire to see the movie in a theater that had withstood a massive tornado.

“The people who live in Tornado Alley have a certain defiance towards mother nature,” he noted, “almost like a passion to fight storms, which was depicted by the characters in ‘Twisters.’”

Director Lee Isaac Chung emphasized the importance of setting the film in Oklahoma.

“I told everyone this is something that we have to do. We can’t just have blue screens,” Chung told the AP earlier this year. “We’ve got to be out there on the roads with our pickup trucks and in the green environments where this story actually takes place.”

The film was shot at various locations in Oklahoma, with the studio benefiting from a rebate incentive in which the state reimburses production companies for up to 30% of qualifying expenditures, including labor.

While the exact amount Oklahoma spent on “Twisters” is still being calculated, Jeanette Stanton, director of Oklahoma’s Film and Music Office, noted that the film fits perfectly into what state policymakers envisioned when they increased the available funds for the program in 2021 from $8 million to $30 million annually.

Among the major films and TV series that have utilized Oklahoma’s film incentives recently are “Reagan” ($6.1 million), “Killers of the Flower Moon” ($12.4 million), “Reservoir Dogs” ($13 million), and “Tulsa King” ($14.1 million).

Stanton expressed no surprise at the success of “Twisters,” especially in Oklahoma.

“You love seeing your state on the big screen, and I think for locals across the state, when they see that El Reno water tower falling down, they think: ‘I know where that is!’” she said.

“It’s almost as if Oklahoma was a character in the film,” she added.

In Barnsdall, a community in northeast Oklahoma where a tornado killed two people and destroyed over 80 homes in May, Mayor Johnny Kelley believes most residents will embrace the film.

“Some will and some won’t. Things affect people differently, you know?” said Kelley, who is also a firefighter in nearby Bartlesville. “I really don’t ever go to the movies or watch TV, but I might go see that one.”

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Source: AP