- National Film Day will be held on September 3rd.
- More than 3,000 theaters in the U.S. will be participating, offering tickets of up to $3.
- Theater owners want to encourage films to come out at a time when theaters are short on tentacle films.
With movie theaters facing a drought, they hope the new event – and cheaper tickets – will boost attendance and draw audiences.
National Film Day It’s Saturday, September 3, the Motion Picture Foundation, a nonprofit organization of the National Association of Theater Owners, announced Sunday.
For one day alone, more than 3,000 movie theaters in the U.S. will offer tickets to any movie or screening for $3 or less. There are approximately 40,700 movie screens in the United States, of which at least 30,000 will be involved.
On this day — over Labor Day weekend — movie theaters are usually slow, and this year is expected to be particularly slow, as the only major release that weekend was a re-release: an extended version of Spider-Man: Nowhere. “
It reflects the lack of blockbusters in theaters after a promising summer; the next one is sure to wait until November’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
Heading into Labor Day weekend, more elusive latest releases, like Brad Pitt’s action film “Bullet Train,” will still be in theaters.
“It’s about getting moviegoers back into theaters during the typical slow viewing hours,” John Fisian, head of the Theater Association, told Insider.
It’s also to promote upcoming movies, as theaters show future trailers, Fithian said.
While the rest of the year isn’t in theaters — with the exception of “Black Adam,” “Wakanda Forever” and “Avatar: The Way of Water” — theater owners hope they’ll highlight lesser-known films.
The thriller “Don’t Worry Honey,” the historical epic “The Queen,” and the romantic comedy “Brothers” will also be released later this year.
“August and September are usually a slow period,” Fithian said. “But people miss out that there are good movies coming out in the fall. We have a lot of good stuff coming out.”
