Last night students gathered at Carmike Cinema 5, 116 Heister St., to see an early screening of the football story We are Marshall.

The free screening was provided by Smile State, a contest hosted by Crest Whitestrips, which allows 20 major universities to compete for a free concert sponsored by Crest.

"The purpose of Smile State is to try to bring the school together by enhancing school spirit," Megan Jones (junior-journalism), campus coordinator for Smile State, said.

Students were greeted with free popcorn and soda, as a DJ blasted Justin Timberlake and other top 40 hits from a corner of the theater.

Before the movie began, Smile State representatives played trivia games with the audience, presenting Crest Whitestrips and movie posters as prizes--one student won an iPod shuffle.

"The first semester each university gets a free screening of We are Marshall," Angie Rittel, an account manager for the Smile State project, said.

Students were invited to the screening by joining the Facebook group, Smile State.

"I thought the turnout was good for my first screening," Megan Jones (junior-journalism), the campus coordinator for Smile State said. "Out of 112 tickets, 75 people showed up."

Tickets were also passed out on campus in the days prior to the event, but it wasn't a requirement to sign up -- whoever showed up was admitted.

Cinema 5 has hosted multiple free screenings this year.

The most recent being Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny, Stephanie Sleeman, Cinema 5 manager, said.

"Tonight's [turnout] was pretty big, but it all depends on the movie and the distributor's promotion," Sleeman said.

"Theaters have to pay to be able to show a certain movie, so if the theater offers to have a free screening, then the studio will reimburse them for the viewing of that movie," Kate Miller (junior-public relations), a Time Warner intern promoting the event, said.

Whichever university has the most members in their Facebook group will win a free concert for the second semester, Rittel said.

"The concert will feature a major recording artist, which has not yet been announced," she said.

The movie We are Marshall will not be released for public viewing until Dec. 8.

It tells the story of a major rebuilding of the Marshall University football team.

In the movie, Head coach Jack Lengyel is played by Matthew McConaughey.

"Smile State looked at many movies--this one had a good collegiate fit," Rittel said.

Jones agreed that the movie seemed to hit home with the college audience.

"I think the movie made us appreciate our school and our school spirit," she said. "I kept thinking what if this was our school."