Robin Heagy said New in Town is not the kind of movie her boyfriend Josh Raynes would normally want to see, but he was willing to sit through it Saturday because of Valentine's Day.
"He obviously didn't want to see it. I dragged him to a romantic movie," Heagy (senior-wildlife and fisheries science) said.
Premiere Theater 12 managers Alan Leschinsky and Robert Ricker said there were definitely more people in their theater, 125 Premiere Drive, this Saturday than would normally show up, but it wasn't just couples celebrating Valentine's Day that accounted for the surge.
"It's couples, but it's also some groups of girls who might be bummed out about not having dates," Leschinsky said.
Ricker said the diverse selection of films released recently ensured there was a film that would interest everyone.
"Movies like He's Not that Into You and Confessions of a Shopaholic provided a great lineup for people to choose from this year," he said.
People weren't interested only in romantic comedies. Friday the 13th, a remake of the classic 1980s slasher film, took first place at the box office nationally, earning more than $40 million, according to boxofficemojo.com. This weekend was the highest grossing February weekend ever.
Ricker said he can understand the horror film's Valentine's Day appeal.
"Friday the 13th also enjoyed success because it's one of the classic 'scary movie date' films," he said.
State College resident Jim Walters, 54, said his reason for going to the movies on Valentine's Day was simple.
"If I don't go I'll catch hell," he said.
Walters said he wasn't even sure which movie he was going to see -- his wife, who he's been married to for 33 years, picked it.
"That's how interested I am," he said.
Though Carmike Cinema 6, 501 Benner Pike, shows older movies and did not feature any romantic comedies this weekend, theater manager David Goodman said it still experienced a little more traffic than in previous weekends.
"There was a good concentration of couples -- not all couples, but quite a lot of couples," Goodman said. He added there were a lot of families too.
Tara Forney of New Jersey was in town visiting friends this weekend. She had a non-traditional Valentine's date: her 2-year old son, Jimmy.
Forney watched Coraline with him Saturday night. It was the first movie Jimmy had ever seen in a theater, Forney said.
Forney said Jimmy, who doesn't understand what Valentine's Day is yet, was a great date, and the holiday is about all kinds of love, not just romantic love.
"It doesn't matter who you're with on Valentine's Day," she said, "as long as you're doing something."
