VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: REGAL BRINGS CLASSIC FILMS BACK TO THE BIG SCREEN
Jake Bowen: Regal Cinemas are unique compared to other popular movie theater chains. That’s because they’re known for bringing back classic movies. Throughout the month of September, Regal, along with directors Rian Johnson, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Edgar Wright and Chloé Zhao chose movies that inspired their work. General Manager Matt Fisher knows audiences are eager to experience those films on the big screen.
Matthew Fisher: There’s a demand where people want to see that movie for the first time in the movie auditorium. With that, you get that communal experience with other people. Like the “Avengers: Endgame”, that whole scene where Captain America has a hammer, spoiler alert, but just watching that I think brings so much joy to people. It’s a different experience you just can’t get in your living room.
Bowen: That experience is easier to witness. Over the past 28 days, Regal lowered its price for classic movies to $7.99 from the normal price of $16.49. It’s a choice in hopes to get more people out of the house and into its seats.
Fisher: I think they don’t want to charge full price for a film that has been out. They can get that at home. They want to entice people to come to the theaters.
Bowen: As September winds down, boo, the spooky season of October begins. And with that, Regal brings back its “31 Screams on Screen” series, which features a different horror classic each day of the month.
Fisher: It brings people back to the theaters that probably would have watched it [the movie] at home or maybe they just have a few friends who are out and you know, hey, Regal’s playing “Tremors.” We watched that in the nineties and now we can get to experience that with friends that are older.
Bowen: Regal hopes that this October, its neighborhood theater isn’t just a place to watch a movie, it’s a time machine proving that some nightmares truly never fade, they just wait for the lights to go out. Reporting in Syracuse, Jake Bowen, NCC News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Regal Cinemas is bringing back classic movies through its September “Month of Masterpieces” and October “31 Screams on Screen.”
Throughout September, Regal Destiny USA showed a classic film each day chosen by the theater along with directors Rian Johnson (“Knives Out,” “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”), Gina Prince-Bythewood (“The Woman King,” “Love & Basketball”), Edgar Wright (“Baby Driver,” “Shaun of the Dead”) and Chloé Zhao (“Hamnet,” “Eternals”). Each filmmaker handpicked five films that inspired their work. The event premiered last September. Regal selected all 30 movies.
Matthew Fisher, general manager of Regal Destiny USA, believes there’s something special about experiencing a classic movie on the big screen.
“There’s a demand where people want to see that movie for the first time in the movie auditorium. With that, you get that communal experience with other people. Like the “Avengers: Endgame,” that whole scene where Captain America has a hammer, spoiler alert, but just watching that I think brings so much joy to people. It’s a different experience you just can’t get in your living room,” Fisher said.
As the calendar turns to October, Regal is changing its theme with spooky stories on the silver screen. The theater announced the return of its “31 Screams on Screen” series, which features a different horror classic on each day of the month.
Along with Regal’s selections, the company asked acclaimed directors Curry Barker (“Anything But Ghosts,” “Obsession”), Nia DaCosta (“28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” “Candyman”) and James Wan (“The Conjuring,” “Insidious,” “Saw”) to contribute four films each.
Popular films throughout the month include “The Shining” (Oct. 2), “The Conjuring” (Oct. 4), “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (Oct. 13), “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (Oct. 18) and “Halloween” (Oct. 30).
Fisher notes that movies like these make audiences eager to get out of the house and go to the theater.
“It brings people back to the theaters that probably would have watched it at home, or maybe they just have a few friends who are out and, you know, ‘hey, Regal’s playing “Tremors.”‘ We watched that in the nineties and now we can get to experience that with friends that are older,” he said.
Regal is also making it easier for moviegoers to experience classic movies. Over the past month and continuing into October, the theater dropped ticket prices to $7.99, per Regal, down from the standard ticket price of $16.49. It’s an attempt to fill the seats while preserving the magical feeling only the cinema can create.