‘Sharknado’ goes from TV movie to midnight movie

If you missed “Sharknado” when it aired on Syfy, now you’re going to have to pay for it.

The low-budget cheese-fest, starring Ian Ziering and Tara Reid battling a tornado of deadly sharks above Los Angeles, is making the leap from cable TV to movie theaters. It’s going to be playing in over 200 theaters at midnight on Friday, Aug. 2. (Technically, it’s 12:05 a.m. on Saturday). The full list of theaters can be found here.

The producers promise never-before-seen footage from the movie, a behind-the-scenes featurette and even a gag reel. Watching Ian Ziering blow his lines repeatedly is probably best enjoyed in the wee hours of the night, anyway.

PHOTOS: ‘Sharknado’ to ‘The Heat’ — a very B movie summer

The original TV movie, which aired July 11, drew only a so-so audience of 1.37 million viewers, but it was a social media phenomenon. It drew enough attention that a sequel has been green-lighted and is expected to air on Syfy in July 2014.

While it’s too soon to tell if this midnight showing of “Sharknado” will spawn a generation’s worth of midnight fun a la “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” or even “The Room,” it’s probably not a bad idea to come dressed as your favorite shark. Or maybe your favorite shark hunter. Or any costume at all, really.

After all, no one watches “Sharknado” just to watch “Sharknado.”

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