Since 2011, Cyclone Cinema has been a popular weekend activity for students at Iowa State looking for feature length movies that they may have missed in theaters to see for free.

During the late 2000s, students attending Iowa State University were looking for a cheap and easy-going activity to attend during their weekend evening free time. The Student Union Board then decided to develop an event that offered movies on campus.

After some off-campus venue discussions, the decision was to start a weekly showing of movies on campus, hosted by SUB. Many similar events were started with varying results over the next few years.

SUB Films were the first of the bunch and drew a “good amount of people,” according to George Micalone, the director of student activities.

The next attempt was organized by the Inter-Residence Hall Association in the from of Free Friday Flicks or “FFF Films” which were shown in the design building, but performed poorly. 

“I know when we created Cyclone Cinema, they thought it was valuable to stop doing that program [FFF Films] and partner financially with SUB,” said Micalone.

When considering venues, SUB had to consider not only a popular and reasonable spot on campus, they also had to choose a reliable one. Carver 101 was chosen for the location of the next event, which was eventually titled Cyclone Cinema.

“The incentive for students to come to Cyclone Cinema is free, movie theater entertainment right here on campus,” said Kevin Babcock, co-director of Cyclone Cinema.

Cyclone Cinema’s first movie, “Bridesmaids,” was shown on August 25, 2011.

SUB acquires the movies shown at Cyclone Cinema through a couple of online distributors, which supply movies before their DVD release, but usually after their main theater run.

However, sometimes movies have to be switched around on the calendar to avoid interfering with certain DVD release dates or other interferences, such as this semester’s substitution of “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” and “How To Train Your Dragon 2.”

Cyclone Cinema play movies every Thursday through Sunday at its current location in Carver 101. Friday and Saturday nights are usually the most popular nights for the event, averaging around 175 attendees, with Thursday and Sunday following in their respective order.

The movies that tend to be the most popular are summer blockbusters such as this semester’s “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” and “Guardians of the Galaxy,” which are typically shown in the fall semester following their main theater run.

While the fall semester line-up is usually filled with summer blockbusters, the spring semester tends to have a few more “Oscar-Worthy” titles such as “Argo” or “Les Miserables.”

Cyclone Cinema started out strong in 2011 with its offer of free movies on campus, but has since slightly declined in popularity according to George Micalone. SUB is hoping to entice more students to come out to the event with a solid selection of movies and reliable service. 

The line-up of films for the Spring 2015 semester is expected to be released sometime at the end of the Fall 2014 semester or over winter break.

Cyclone Cinema shows select films every Thursday through Sunday night at 7 and 10 PM in Carver 101. Admission is free with snacks and drinks for sale.