TEMPE, Ariz. -- Thousands of people roared Monday night in Tempe as Hugh Jackman arrived at Harkins Cine Capri for the world premiere of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."

"You have no idea how exciting it is to be here," Jackman told the cheering crowd.

According to a representative from Allied Advertising, theater and city officials were expecting more than 10,000 people to attend. Tempe won the chance April 19 to host the premiere after logging the most votes in an online contest.

For his part, Jackman said that he was thrilled over the fan reaction.

"I just found out that 900 people were camping out, waiting for tickets," Jackman told @ The Movies' Tim Lammers in an interview over the weekend. "It's exciting for me because I like to meet the genuine fans of the movie. The idea of doing a hometown premiere somewhere other than LA or New York is great."

According to KPHO-TV, Jackman showed his appreciation by ordering breakfast from Paradise Bakery for 800 people Monday morning, according to Harkins Theaters owner and CEO Dan Harkins.

"We are going to, like, save our trash and cherish it forever," said Ashley, who traveled from Utah to catch a glimpse of the movie's stars.

Jackman, the other actors and their families have around 200 tickets reserved, and they are expected to fly into the Valley at about 4 p.m.

The "World Premiere Experience," which is free and open to the public, is scheduled to start at 3 p.m., officials said. The stars are expected to arrive after 5 p.m., and the movie will start at 7 p.m.

The film will premiere on all of the theater's 16 screens.

On Friday, the Harkins Theater chain was forced to form waiting lines more than an hour before its tickets giveaway was scheduled to begin.

The lines for the giveaway were supposed to form at 9 p.m., but overcrowding outside the theater was so severe that some people were injured in the crush of the crowd, and police had to intervene.

"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" opens nationwide May 1.