How Theatrical Re-Releases Could Save Movie Theaters (And Are Already Starting To)
Discover how theatrical re-releases and repertory screenings of films like Star Wars, Titanic, and Jaws can help movie theaters thrive again after years of challenges.
Let’s be honest - movie theaters have not been the same since 2020, when COVID reared its ugly head and shut down the industry. Even after things opened up, theaters then limped along for almost two years with limited audiences and social distancing. At the same time, sales of Video On-Demand rentals and streaming subscriptions skyrocketed as people got used to viewing movies at home and became comfortable with the convenience factor those tools offered.
Even with the industry bouncing back in 2023 with big box office results from hits like Oppenheimer and Barbie, blockbusters like Deadpool & Wolverine and Dune: Part Two in 2024, and the early success of films like Sinners in 2025, the total movie tickets sold each year is still down quite a bit over the last 20 years. The industry was already on a slide before 2020, and it has still not recovered 5 years later.
So what can save the movie theater? Is it “better” movies? Better marketing? Sure, that will help. But I also think that there is untapped potential for theatrical re-releases from the deep catalog of a century of film that can drive ticket sales and bring these numbers back up. Younger audiences will learn to fall in love with the theater, older audiences can rediscover the magic of the big screen, and movie theaters can find some new revenue streams, especially during slow months.
We all know Star Wars is one of the biggest franchises in the world, so maybe the results from the recent re-release of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith should not be surprising, but those crazy numbers inspired this post. For the (re)opening weekend of the film, it made $25.2 million at the domestic box office, good enough for second place behind the surging Sinners, and ahead of a new major studio release with a big Hollywood star (Ben Affleck), The Accountant 2. So a 20 year old Star Wars movie that literally every fan of the series had already seen still generated enough excitement to sell tickets? I would say it is time to replicate that formula on a larger scale, and some movies have.
Notable wins from recent history include Titanic’s 3D re-release in 2012, which generated a whopping $350 million, and the 2023 IMAX re-release, which grossed another $61 million worldwide.
Jurassic Park’s 3D re-release in 2013 pulled in $118 million, and a re-re-release (is that word?) of the 3D version in 2023 for the film’s 30th Anniversary still grossed $4.6 million over one weekend, even after many people had already seen it in 2013.
There are numerous other examples of successful re-releases, like Jaws, or roadshow style re-releases, or like Kevin Smith’s run of sold-out theaters for the 25th Anniversary of Dogma and it’s eventual wide release to 1,500 theaters in June of 2025. It is fair to say that with these classics bringing in excitement back to theaters across the world that they can make a real impact on ticket sales. This is especially true in a world where we have had a string of slow weekends grossing only $50 million (or less) across all domestic theaters and films in 2025 already.
When it comes to the financials, these re-releases can be a huge profit boost for theaters. During a typical new release, theaters can expect to take home only about 20% of the ticket sales, with that number growing to 30-50% or more over the coming weeks. With re-releases or repertory screenings of older films, theaters can sometimes pay as little as $300 for a license to show a film in smaller events, or get a much larger split, often in the 50-60% range, for larger wide releases like Titanic and Jurassic Park.
So let’s do the math using the most recent numbers from the new release opening of The Accountant 2 and Star Wars Episode III’s re-release. The Accountant 2 made $24.6 million at the box office it’s opening weekend, so theaters get to take home around $5 million after the studio cut. In contrast, Star Wars Episode III made $25.2 million. If we assume the theaters get a larger cut, even just 50%, that means they took home $12.6 million of those returns. So yes, a 20 year old Star Wars film not only sold more tickets, but it also about 2.5 times more profitable for movie theaters than a new release from a major studio.
Will that math always work out? No, of course not. Sinners making $45 million in its second weekend likely meant theaters took home around 30% of the sales, or $15 million, a better profit than Star Wars. But it is still an impressive example of what a re-release can do for a movie theater, and how the studios and theaters could work together on these special screenings of big name movies to lift everyone in the industry up and bring more general audiences back to the theaters again.
The timing of the releases can also play a huge part in generating more wins. There was a weekend in March of 2025 where the highest grossing movie (Novocaine, a pretty fun movie) made only $8.7 million. That weekend could have been aided by bringing in a re-release or a special one-weekend event that would have driven more overall sales, and likely boosted the other movies on the roster as well. Of course, I wouldn’t recommend putting out a re-release up against the new James Cameron Avatar movie or the new Christopher Nolan film, but for weekends that could use the help, it could be a beneficial tool!
Outside of the financials and the pull to get audiences back in front of the big screen, these re-releases and repertory screenings also bring together the movie-loving community to celebrate the art of film in a way that a new release film cannot do. When audiences come back year after year to view The Rocky Horror Picture Show around Halloween, they are celebrating something bigger than movies. It is a cultural event that brings a community together. Last year, I had the pleasure of viewing Jaws on the big screen at The Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit, Maine, a 100 year old movie theater in a seacoast New England town. It doesn’t get better than that - the setting was perfect, and people packed the audience for the free screening while the theater made their money at the bar and on their food service. (If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend them for a show!).
Another one of my local indie theaters, The Somerville Theatre in Somerville, Massachusetts, holds an annual 70mm Film Festival where they show some of film history’s best and most beautiful movies in their fully restored main cinema which opened in 1914. The history and architecture are amazing, as is the setting in Davis Square, surrounded by restaurants and shops. I went last year to see 2001: A Space Odyssey, and it was an experience I will never forget. The audience was amazing, the 70mm print and sound were incredible, and it was a full event with an intermission and interlude which made the experience that much more authentic. For smaller indie theaters like the Leavitt and the Somerville, this is how they keep the business going, by curating these unique experiences, and keeping the magic of the movie theater alive and well.
If movie theaters want to not only survive, but thrive, they have to tap into the over 100 years of film history and start bringing back these unique experiences to wider audiences. People will pay to see movies that they have never seen in a theater if they are made available. Younger audiences who were born in the 1990s or 2000s, like myself, will go out of their way to experience a movie like 2001 in the way it was meant to be seen. I personally find myself to be more excited for those opportunities than I am for new release films, because I have only had roughly 15 years of life where I could even drive myself to the theater on my own accord, so I missed a lot of movies on the big screen both as a kid and in the decades before I was born.
But it isn’t just for younger audiences either. Older audiences can fall back in love with the magic of the theater by seeing one of their childhood favorites on the big screen again, or checking out a movie that they wore out on VHS in their younger years but never had a chance to see in the theater. When people step back into the theater, their attitude changes. They find that spark again. And they remember the experiences so much more vividly than watching something at home.
So to the theaters out there - get these people back into the theater, and use re-releases and repertory screenings as an opportunity to do so. Many people have not stepped foot in a movie theater since 2020, and the ticket sale data shows that. So give them a reason to come back, play on their nostalgia, curate a unique and engaging experience, and help everyone out there find that spark and that magic that I know a good movie theater can trigger.
The repertory screenings of Revenge of the Sith and Pride and Prejudice were both packed at my Long Island, suburban multiplex. I literally cannot understand why there's not repertory screenings every weekend. It's not like 20 years ago when the cost of new prints were prohibitive. There are repertory productions on broadway, The Rolling Stones still tour, and yet the studios can't figure out that people love old, nostalgic and proven works? You have to think $25m for ROTS has to be turning some heads.
Let's get older people like myself back into movie theaters/cinemas by showing re-runs of great films, possibly in uhd ( if possible), let them see The Searchers etc again on the big screen. I know for a fact that people in Britain want to see a return to the 'Saturday Cinema Club' for their children, which is a start!