That includes Universal’s “E.T. The Extra Terrestrial,” which took in $1.07 million last weekend — more than the totals of new films such as “Mack & Rita” and “Emily the Criminal.” Not bad for a 40-year old film.
And it’s not the only big hit making a come back.
Why? Covid played a part.
Re-releases re-released
“The pandemic spurred on a greater proliferation of re-releases in movie theaters since there were no new movies to come by,” Dergarabedian said. “Theaters are looking for more than just brand-new movies to put on their screens and with some 30% fewer releases in the mix this year, it’s no wonder that this is a welcome trend.”
Bringing back favorites is good business for both theaters and studios, according to Dergarabedian.
“Re-releases are great for theaters because it gives them more movies to put on their screens,” he said. “And it’s great for the studios who can dig into their vaults and earn revenues on films that were released many years ago, but now regain a new life on the big screen.”
“‘Top Gun: Maverick’ is something of a freak of nature at this point,” Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice.com, told CNN Business. “The film’s near-immaculate staying power has strengthened calls for it to be given more premium screen allotment again and again as other content dries up.”
And there are more re-releases to come next year.
“I think there’s an argument to be made that small-to-medium scale re-releases in IMAX and other formats should occur more often,” Robbins said. “While there is no substitute for a brand new release capturing a wide audience, select screenings of legacy content can offer valuable supplemental revenue to many theater owners and studios.”
