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Source: CNBC
Labor Day weekend, often hailed by many in the film industry as the end of the summer season, does not usually see much of a turnout, at least not compared to earlier in the summer. One would think this period of time would be a last hoorah for the past couple months and the big earnings brought in by the films released during that time, yet with so many preparing to go back to school (if they aren’t there already), Labor Day weekend has rarely been seen as a lucrative time to release a film. The one exception (at least in recent memory) came last year with Marvel Studios’ “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”, and even that had the advantage of being a highly anticipated superhero film (the latest in a long-running and record-breaking franchise) that had its release date delayed due to a global pandemic.
Speaking of which, that’s another issue that has plagued the film industry for the past couple years, metaphorically and literally. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the grand majority of the nation’s theaters to be shut down throughout much of the year 2020, and the time since has seen some recovery, but not as much as studios and theaters would have liked. Sure, films like “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “Top Gun: Maverick” have exceeded expectations with their insanely high grosses (the latter benefiting from its studio Paramount’s decision to hold the film back until it had a chance of being successful at the box office), but it seems that only a small handful of major blockbusters are faring well at the moment, with other types of films appearing to underperform at best and outright bomb at worst. Despite a financial success here and there throughout the past several months, audiences aren’t going out to theaters as much as they had been before the start of the pandemic. It’s clear that if theaters are going to make a full comeback, they need something special – and not just another blockbuster – to attract more attention. The industry’s latest attempt at doing just that may appear to be a bit risky, but if it goes as well as hoped, it could become an annual tradition through which all can celebrate the art of cinema. Its name: National Cinema Day.
On September 3rd of this year, the Saturday that serves as the midpoint of Labor Day weekend, over 3,000 theaters (which possess a total of over 30,000 screens altogether) will offer tickets to any films being screened for just $3 (not counting taxes) in celebration of what the Cinema Foundation, the nonprofit division of the National Association of Theater Owners, is calling National Cinema Day. At several different chains throughout the country, including theater giants AMC and Regal Cinemas (a subsidiary of Cineworld, which recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy), not one ticket will be sold for over $3, regardless of the time of the day or the format of the film (IMAX, Real-D 3-D, etc.). Choosing to hold this “holiday” right before Labor Day might seem like an odd decision for some, but given that this period probably wouldn’t see much of an audience if there wasn’t anything major happening then, it might be the perfect time for theaters to perform this ambitious experiment.
While theatrical revenue may not quite be at the same heights it had achieved in 2019, studios have been pleased with the success of such films as “Jurassic World: Dominion” and “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”, which have helped bring the domestic summer box office to over $3.2 billion. Such a total may be 20% less than what was earned in the summer of 2019 (a period which saw the release of “Toy Story 4”, “Spider-Man: Far From Home”, and other major box office breakouts), but it should be noted that this summer had 30% less films being shown, and either way, it’s still high above the total grosses of the previous two summers, a fact that Cinema Foundation president Jackie Brenneman is eager to commemorate. “After this summer’s record-breaking return to cinemas, we wanted to do something to celebrate moviegoing,” Brenneman claims in a statement released by the Cinema Foundation. “We’re doing it by offering a ‘thank you’ to the moviegoers that made this summer happen, and by offering an extra enticement for those who haven’t made it back yet.”
There is still one major challenge that needs to be overcome in order for National Cinema Day to go from being a one-time event to an annual staple of the film-going season: the films being shown in theaters during this time. On the one hand, as is often the case for films that come out during Labor Day weekend, the few new releases coming out this weekend are not the kinds of films that usually generate hundreds of millions of dollars.
These include the religious comedy “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.” and the based-on-a-true-story drama “Gig and Nate”, neither of which is currently forecast to make a huge splash at the box office this weekend, even with tickets being only $3 on Saturday. On the flipside, there are a few films returning to theaters this Labor Day weekend that have already been declared as beloved staples of cinema, which could make them just appealing enough for audiences to come back to see them on the big screen once again. These films are the 1975 Spielberg masterpiece “Jaws”, often hailed as the original summer blockbuster and being shown exclusively in IMAX and Real-D 3-D formats for the very first time, and last year’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home”, which overcame the presence of a pandemic to become of the biggest box office smashes in recent history and will return to theaters this weekend with eleven minutes of additional footage.
Will these options, as well as the opportunity to pay no more than $3 per ticket, be enough to generate enough interest in audiences and encourage them to close out the summer at their local cineplex? As is always the case, only time will tell, but as far as studios and theaters are concerned, there is nothing but excitement and anticipation for Saturday the 3rd. Should National Cinema Day prove to be a big enough hit, the event could very easily be repeated throughout the coming years. This is a rare opportunity for one to go see a film at the lowest price in recent memory, and if all goes according to plan, it could allow millions to rediscover the power of theatrically-released cinema.
