Got any plans this weekend? No, we here at JoBlo aren’t asking you on a date–although we’re sure you’re a perfectly fine person. We’re just letting you know movie tickets will be cheap this weekend. On Saturday, September 3, The Cinema Foundation (a part of the National Association of Theatre Owners) announced their inaugural National Cinema Day. For one day only, movies across the country will be just $3, no matter the showtime or format.
According to Cinema Foundation president Jackie Brenneman, “After this summer’s record-breaking return to cinemas, we wanted to do something to celebrate moviegoing…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.”
As per the press release, over 3,000 movie theaters housing over 30,000 screens will participate in National Cinema Day. Each screening will also be accompanied by a promo of sneak peeks for upcoming movies from studios ranging from Disney and Paramount to A24 and Focus Features.
Labor Day Weekend is a notoriously slow weekend at the cinema as families take advantage of the final days of summer. That means hot dogs and hamburgers, not popcorn and fountain drinks. Last year, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings set a Labor Day Weekend box office record with $94.7 million.
Hopefully National Cinema Day will put some keisters in seats. But that will definitely be a challenge considering not only the slow Labor Day Weekend but also that there just isn’t anything spectacular looking coming out. Of course, you could catch the extended version of Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Will you be making an outing on National Cinema Day? If so, what do you plan on catching? Do you think moviegoers will turn out over Labor Day Weekend for the event?