"The Avengers: Age of Ultron" will be premiering at the Historic Palace Theatre Thursday night. The Transit Drive-In will also have an early showing of the expected blockbuster. (SCOTT LEFFLER / ENP STAFF)

By +Scott Leffler 
scott.leffler@eastniagarapost.com

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The summer blockbuster movie season unofficially kicks off Thursday night with special screenings of "The Avengers: Age of Ultron."

The Historic Palace Theatre on Main Street and the Transit Drive-In Theater will both offer viewers a chance to see the new release Thursday night at highly promoted screenings.

The drive-in will debut the flick with a rare single feature at 8:45 p.m. Gates will open 45 minutes earlier. The 141-minue movie will be paired with Disney's Cinderella for Friday, Saturday and Sunday showings. The classic downtown movie house, meanwhile, will hold its advance screening at 9 p.m. It plans to run the movie through May 21.

ENP movie critic +George N Root III complained Sunday that the movies so far this season have been lackluster and cheered the opening of the latest in the series of Marvel comic book movies, saying it kicks off a string of great movies to come.

"The Avengers: Age of Ultron" stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner reprising their roles from previous Marvel movies, including the original 2012 Avengers, which grossed $623 million in the U.S.

RELATED LINKS:

• Historic Palace Theatre
• Transit Drive-In Theater

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