Glen Soustek of Westlake Cards, Comics and Coins in Roselle, Illinois found success cross-promoting his store with the Spider-Man 2 movie:

Holding the Free Comic Book Day 3 in-store promotion over this 4th of July weekend in Chicago meant competing with dozens of suburban festivals, the Taste of Chicago, the

Cubs/Sox war, and a mass vacation exodus of customers on an extended 4-day weekend.  Those of us that have been around since Carter was President remember the failed attempts of bringing major coin, card or comic conventions into Chi-Town over the 4th of July, so why should FCBD be any different?

That being said, the 3rd of July was a great success for us, not because it was Free Comic Book Day, but because it was the first Saturday of Spider-Man 2.  We set up a booth at our local theater (not just on July 3rd, but for the first midnight screening and throughout the opening weekend); and we sold comics (a lot of comics) and we promoted our store to thousands of potential customers (many of whom have already turned potential into $$$).  That's the point, isn't it; to promote and develop new customers on the retail store level?

When given the choice between tapping in (in some small way) to the $180 Million juggernaut of Spider-Man 2 or pounding advertising dollars into a handout, the choice for us was simple (and profitable).  We looked upon Spider-Man 2 as an opportunity to promote our store, not FCBD.

Of the hundreds of people we saw in our store on July 3rd, most were carrying the flyer they had picked up at our local theater; of the hundreds of people we saw in our store on July 3rd, exactly three saw some outside form of media directing them to FCBD.  Free Comic Book Day needs to stand alone, as it's own promotion, not as a transiently timed giveaway.