YORK COUNTY, Pa. — Moviegoers took advantage of National Cinema Day at RC Theatres in York Township, York County on Saturday.
“Nothing’s like the big screen, that’s how we feel about it," said Carolyn Gaffney of York. "We can watch movies at home as well but this is a great opportunity and we thought for the amount of money, we thought it’d be a great day to do it.”
More than 3,000 American theaters participated in the $3.00 movie ticket promotion.
“It’s been done in other countries in a similar way to Restaurant Week," said Scott R. Cohen, president and CEO of RC Theatres. "It’s to bring people back so they remember what they’ve been missing.”
The first-of-its-kind initiative comes on what is traditionally one of the slowest weekends of the year for theaters, as many are trying to fill seats and rebound from the pandemic.
“Our shortage now is the pipeline, is movies are behind because of COVID," said Cohen.
Even still, Cohen says his company has almost matched its 2019 gross profits this year.
“A lot of people, during COVID and everything, we lost a lot of time, and it’s great people are getting out and starting to do things again," said Karen Snyder of Dallastown.
But other major chains, like AMC and Regal, have struggled, with Regal reportedly contemplating bankruptcy.
Theaters also remain up against streaming platforms.
But Cohen argues businesses like his remain the biggest revenue source for movie studios.
“They can’t spend the millions and billions on a movie and get it back on streaming," said Cohen. "The theatrics give it that platform ahead of time. They give it the additional money.”
He remains optimistic that as long as Hollywood keeps giving them great titles that people want to see, the doors will remain open for many years to come.
“Every new invention—TV, video, cable, VOD—has been looked at as the death of movie theaters, [but] we’re still here," said Cohen.
Organizers of National Cinema Day say it could become an annual fixture.
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