Girls and women flock to theaters for 'Twilight'

Erica Quimby got to the theater an hour-and-a-half before showtime on Friday, along with seven of her “Team Edward” teammates.

Quimby, 13, and her friends were at Regal Mayfaire Stadium 16 to cheer on Edward, the hero of the new film “Twilight,” the expected blockbuster about a love affair between a vampire and a human that opens in theaters this weekend.

“It’s Harry Potter for girls, with a little bit of Romeo and Juliet thrown in,” Quimby said. “We’ve been counting down the days.”

Based on the best-selling series of four books and counting, the film has been anticipated by fans for months. Theater officials said they expected all Friday evening showings to sell out.

Angela Moosman, there with a group of 25 of her colleagues from Wachovia Corporate Mortgage, said the group had bought tickets as soon as they went on sale. The story has an appeal across all age groups, Moosman said.

“We just want to see the characters and how they choose to portray them,” Moosman said. “It’s the storyline – who knew 50-year-olds would appreciate a storyline written for 15-year-olds?”

The movie’s first showing was at midnight the night before, and Philna Joubert, 19, was there.

“I couldn’t wait any longer, I had to come see it,” Joubert said. “I had high expectations of it, and it went way above them.”

Joubert liked the movie so much that she agreed to go see the 10 a.m. showing eight hours later with her roommate at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, Laura Upton, 20. There was no line to get in at 10 a.m., and that was exactly what both had been hoping for.

“I‘m like a 13-year-old girl, I’m so excited,” Upton said.

Mother and daughter Pam and Stephanie Postich, 15, had read the series together, and made a pact to see the movie together when it came out. They were the first through the door Friday morning, despite Stephanie’s morning classes.

“She talked me into it,” Pam Postich said. “Since she has A’s and no tests today, I decided to give her a treat.”

Later that night, Courtney Jennings, 15, was also at the theater with her mother, Kim Herring Jennings, 40, along with her grandmother, Sherian Huckaby, 60, who are both big fans of the novels. Jennings hadn’t read them yet, and said the movie had a lot of hype to live up to.

“It needs to make me laugh and it needs to make me cry,” Jennings said.

Chelsea Kellner: 343-2070

chelsea.kellner@starnewsonline.com