Yeah, this is the eternal chicken/egg debate, one which is greatly enhanced when you're on the other end trying to assemble a lineup. And it's true that if you boil this whole cinematic thing of ours down to its essentials, the group dynamic of the audience is the main draw. But the lineup will always have an effect, no matter what. And in some cases, a poor lineup can sap an audience of its energy, and thus make the experience factor a much lesser...um...experience.
And even then, it's tough to say what entails a poor lineup. Sometimes, it's a slate of fairly rotten films. Sometimes, it's a lineup that looks good on paper, but doesn't work as a whole. Over the years, there have been several lineups that inevitably have required 3-5 slower or less engaging films to play on top of each other from 10pm on, the result of which has been a collective knockout of the crowd. Most of you have attended Marathons in which the energy is consistent throughout; you know how fun it is to have the audience energized for the last few films, to cheer along with a final flick that happens to be particularly rousing. Knocking the crowd out early can often negate that final state of enthusiasm, which is no fun for anyone. Of course, there's also the matter of the graying of the Columbus crowd...but that's probably a topic for another thread.
But at the same time, poor looking lineups can also sometimes be great fun. Witness the 2009 CWRU Sci-Fi Marathon (right over
here.) When my cohorts and I saw the initial list, we almost declined to head up north so bad it appeared. But we made the trek anyway, and were rewarded with a great time. For one reason or the other, this motley stew of B and obscure fare ended up playing incredibly well as a whole. And the surprise inclusions of A BOY AND HIS DOG and STAR TREK II only solidified the good times.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is that the Mighty Marathon Machine is a multilayered menace (eat yer heart out Stan Lee!), featuring many working parts that all contribute to the audience enjoyment factor. Some of the parts are bigger than others, and the event can keep running if some of the lesser parts aren't fully working. But there's nothing like the Marathon firing on all cylinders.