Theater rereleases further important connections
By Kenna Jenkins, November 12, 2025
The magic of seeing a movie in theaters is something that has never gone away, and it’s something movies as old as 50 are still proving.
In an era of never-ending sequels, reboots and live-action adaptations of animated classics, there’s an undeniable intrigue in seeing movies from past creative periods.
Sometimes it’s for anniversaries, like “Pride and Prejudice” (2005) for its 20th anniversary, the “Jaws” (1975) rerelease for its 50th anniversary or, “The Sound of Music” (1975) for its 60th.
Other times it’s just because, like the annual Studio Ghibli Fest, where Ghibli films like “Howl’s Moving Castle,” “Spirited Away” and, the most recent release, “The Boy and the Heron” come back to the big screen, a tradition that started in 2017.
Sometimes it’s in anticipation of a sequel. For example, “Wicked” will reappear before “Wicked: For Good” and “Avatar: The Way of Water” ran before “Avatar: Fire and Ash.” Sometimes the release will come around award season, like the rerelease of “The Substance” from earlier this year ahead of the Oscar’s.
There’s a certain comradery that comes with rereleases that even those done prior to anticipated sequels lack.
That connection comes from fandom. Whether those fans are writing fanfiction on Tumblr, thirsting over fan edits on TikTok or theorizing backstories and timelines on Reddit forums and in YouTube videos, there’s a link.
“Many moviegoers attending an evening screening of ‘Jaws’ said they wanted to see the movie ‘the way it was intended,’” said Cerys Davis in The Los Angeles Times.
Listening to people gasp, not in shock but in remembrance, as the camera focuses on the flex of Mr. Darcy’s hand after helping Elizabeth Bennet into a carriage in “Pride and Prejudice” is a special experience that only comes with watching a movie in a room with strangers.
It also gives people from younger generations a chance to experience films they were too young to see in theaters.
Movies like those in the “Twilight” saga, which got a rerelease at the end of October going into November of this year, might bring in Generation Z and Generation Alpha, who weren’t aware or alive for the peak popularity of the books and movies.
Darren Aronofsky, the director of the 2010 film “Black Swan,” expressed his excitement about young people being able to see the film in theaters during its rerelease in August.
Rereleases within the horror genre can be particularly special, whether it’s an entire theater laughing reluctantly at the psychologically horrific, and slightly confusing, end of 1997’s “Perfect Blue” or cringing at the bloody body horror throughout “The Substance.”
But one thing that might make movie-goers hesitant is the continued price increase for movie tickets.
Some theaters like AMC will discount prices for rereleases, but others don’t, and those costs add up in addition to things like snacks and online convenience or booking fees.
AMC has a subscription where movie-goers can see four movies a week, and Regal has one where people can see an unlimited amount a month.
Even though they pay for themselves with at least two trips a month, not everyone has $20-30 to spare every month for a movie theater subscription. It also doesn’t stop the companies from increasing the prices like AMC did with raising its A-List subscription from, the already high, $24.95 to $27.99, though with that increase came four movies a week instead of three.
While theaters have struggled since the pandemic and with the rise of streaming services, the price increase on subscriptions like this and movie tickets as a whole is frustrating and might make people hesitant to go out to theaters.
Some theaters have discount days for people who sign up for its reward program like Regal, which sell tickets for $7.99 or less on Tuesdays and get movies in formats like IMAX at a discounts rate.
And yet, the feeling of community from seeing a rerelease is something to look forward to, especially when trying to destress from things like work and school. It can be a nice treat to see a longtime favorite or one that’s been on the to-be-watched list for ages in theaters.
Whether that treat is experiencing Wendy Torrance’s fear as she fends off her husband in “The Shining” or celebrating Christmas with the Who’s in “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” something fans can do during both films’ Dec. 12 rerelease, viewers get the opportunity to do that in theaters with people who feel the same way.
Take the leap and go see a movie in theaters, whether for the first time or the 30th, human connection is one of the greatest parts of film, and going to theaters makes those movies better. Just ask Nicole Kidman.
Feature graphic courtesy of Connor Lālea Hampton