ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Fall is in the air, which also means a new season of movies for people to go see at their local theater.
As Mitchell Theaters Owner Brian Mitchell tells it, 2024 has been good so far for the movie business.
“We knew, starting the year off, there would still be a bit of fallout from the SAG/AFTRA strikes that took place last year, and there were multiple releases that got pushed back,” Mitchell said. “A big example of that is 'Deadpool & Wolverine,' which was actually supposed to be our big kickoff in May, but ultimately got pushed back to near the end of July. We were still dealing with a bit of a shortage of product, but then in the middle of June, 'Inside Out 2' was released and turned everything around for us, which was great. We're still not back to a completely full slate of films, but we are working our way back to those levels now that the strike is over. We're seeing quite a diverse array of movies, and the summer ended up really strong.”
With the summer blockbuster season finished, Mitchell said he expects to see strong numbers continue throughout the fall and winter.
“We always thought, once the movie pipeline filled back up, people would want to start coming back to the movies, and that's proven true for the most part. This summer, we had some gangbusters with 'Deadpool & Wolverine' and 'Inside Out 2' and 'Twisters,' all of which ended up doing really well for us, and then this fall, so far, our big gangbuster has been 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,' which is the second biggest September opening, coming in behind the 2017 'It' remake,” Mitchell said. “The fall's starting off really well so far, and we've got some other good releases coming up with 'The Wild Robot' and 'Joker: Folie À Deux' and 'Transformers One,' all of which I think will do particularly well. Later this fall will also be the release of 'Smile 2,' 'Venom: The Last Dance,' and then in November will be the holiday blockbuster kickoff with 'Here' (which will reunite Tom Hanks and Robin Wright), 'Gladiator 2,' 'Moana 2,' and the first part of the 'Wicked' movie, which I'm already hearing A LOT of excitement about. Then, this winter, we'll see the releases of 'Kraven the Hunter,' 'The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim,' 'Mufasa: The Lion King' and 'Sonic the Hedgehog 3,' among some others we expect to draw a lot of people. There's going to be family movies, horror movies, and action/adventure movies, and it's great seeing that variety of genres. This fall and winter will definitely be positive for us.”
Mitchell added the wide variety of releases is also very positive for the movie business.
“We're really excited to see that variety of releases, that's what we like to see in the movie business. But the biggest thing that makes me happy is the family movies that will be released because with our low ticket prices and concession prices, people love bringing their families out to the movie theatre for a couple hours for some fun,” Mitchell said. “And there are even some movies still being added to the pipeline, but we're really excited to see the wide variety of releases. I've said this before, people like a variety of movies at the theatre, and when we can provide that, we see more of them in the seats.”
Even though the movie business is seeing positive numbers at this time, Mitchell added there will still be some lingering effects seen from last year’s strike.
“Some of the movies we had for this summer, like with 'Twisters' and 'Deadpool & Wolverine,' we were actually back at pre-strike levels and even a little higher, which we were happy to see,” Mitchell said. “There are still some releases we're waiting on, and things aren't 100 percent back to what they were before the strike, but I would say things are building back up at a good pace and I feel like by Thanksgiving and Christmas, those numbers should be back to what they were at before the strike.”
With all the different movies in the pipeline, Mitchell said he hopes to see big numbers for this fall and winter movie season.
“A big thing is affordability. We've kept our ticket prices the same since we bought the theatre in 2009, and we're working to keep those prices, along with the prices of our concessions, affordable for everyone so they keep coming in,” Mitchell said. “We all know there's stress in the world right now, and movies are a good way to help alleviate that because what's a better afternoon or evening out than with a movie and friends/family. There's a great sort of magic in being able to come into the movie theatre for a couple hours and escaping from the real world and relaxing.”
Overall, Mitchell said, it should be a successful movie season.
“Like always, I want to thank all of our customers for choosing our theaters for their moviegoing experience, and I also want to thank our staff for being so amazing and working so hard to take care of our patrons,” Mitchell said. “I also want to remind everyone Mitchell Theaters is with Fandago now in regards to people being able to purchase tickets online, and we're really excited about that. If you've got a free afternoon or evening this season and you're looking for something to do, come out and see a movie!”
