If you attend North Providence High School, it’s likely you’ve seen a movie at the Cinemaworld in Lincoln. The theater is beloved throughout the state for its pompous decorations around the holiday season and in promotion for certain films. In recent years, the showtimes section of the CWTheater website has seen a massive uptake in anniversary movies–specifically holiday films. As of October 19th, three Halloween anniversary films have played throughout the theater with one more to come on October 20th. While their showtime duration is short, the market for old films is large. This is purely driven by the feeling shared by all humans–nostalgia.
Last week, amidst the rising Halloween spirit, I decided to look into new horror flicks playing nearby. To my surprise, the 30th Anniversary of Hocus Pocus marked a brand new showing of the movie. Bored and wanting to cash-in on the old movie memories, I grabbed a ticket. Fast forward to the end of the film; the use of nostalgia to get movie watchers to theaters is glaringly obvious now. Nostalgia–it’s such a primitive feeling. We as humans want to feel the most and best of every experience. Old memories often age golden in our minds, which is why we have a tendency to dwell on other times, mentally time traveling. Watching a film that was filmed thirty years ago places your mind in an innocent, childish state, where things were not as monumental. It’s comfort and it’s beautiful.
Despite all this, the professionalism of theaters capitalizing financially on old films’ success is questioned. The topic of theater play times is a different, longer article for another time, but when it comes to these anniversary films the most important factor is how you feel. A nice old movie to get the creepy crawlies going will always feel pretty nice. So, if you find yourself with a little free time–check out the CW Theaters website.
