Taking a look at the ticket sales for the Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and Pride & Prejudice theatrical re-releases is a striking sight. Both titles are selling like gangbusters in their respective returns to the big screen. This is despite both features being widely available on various home media formats for eons now. However, the novelty of seeing these motion pictures in their original domiciles is clearly an alluring one, with Sith especially poised to make serious coin in its comeback to multiplexes.
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Such circumstances would’ve sounded foolhardy as recently as 2019. Theatrical re-releases of old movies had been dead for so long that there never seemed to be a chance for their return. However, the last year has made it clear that change is in the air. Theatrical re-releases are experiencing a massive resurgence in the modern cinema world for a multitude of reasons.
Why Theatrical Re-Releases Died Off In The First Place
For decades, theatrical reissues of older movies were incredibly and inevitably common. Without home video formats, bringing famous motion pictures back to theaters was often the only way people could experience vintage titles (unless you wanted to be at the whim of finicky TV reruns). Disney was especially famous bringing back its animated titles to theaters every seven or eight years to tremendous box office hauls. Fantasia could still make another $25.36 million in a 1990 theatrical reissue restricted to just 481 theaters. Still, after The Little Mermaid’s 1997 theatrical reissue, even the Mouse House gave up on this tactic that once generated tens of millions annually.
The allure of VHS tapes and DVDs was just too great for studios to ignore. There was significantly more money (at least initially) for older movies to make in this market than in bringing them back to theaters. Thus, at the dawn of the 21st century, theatrical reissues for older movies fizzled out save for a brief resurgence of 3D re-releases in the early 2010s. In the 2010s, theatrical reissues were largely restricted to Fathom Entertainment-distributed releases that ran for just two showtimes on Sunday on Wednesday. It’s impossible to imagine those meager number of showtimes generating box office revenue on par with A New Hope’s $138.25 million domestic haul from its 1997 reissue.
However, in the 2020s, studios began reaping the benefits of more classical theatrical reissues. A September 2023 IMAX reissue of Stop Making Sense, for instance, grossed a strong $5.3 million domestically. A month later, The Nightmare Before Christmas had a 30th anniversary theatrical re-release that grossed $10.25 million, its second-biggest reissue haul since its original 1993 debut. That same year, Return of the Jedi grossed $7.25 million despite playing in just 475 locations. What was notable about these reissues is that they weren’t restricted in showtimes like 2010s Fathom Entertainment releases.
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Instead, they played all day, seven days a week. They were just like normal new theatrical releases or pre-2000 theatrical reissues. This showtime strategy was deployed for the real game-changer of modern theatrical reissues: Coraline’s 15th anniversary reissue in August 2024 (ironically, also distributed by Fathom). Playing at least five times a day even on Mondays and Wednesdays, this Laika film took everyone by surprise in grossing $33.62 million domestically. That came in ahead of the $34 million Monsters, Inc. 3D grossed back in December 2012 despite that Disney title playing in more theaters.
Once Interstellar took in $15.2 million from a December IMAX-exclusive release that never reached more than 321 theaters, it was official: the theatrical reissue was back. But why was it returning in popularity now?
Why Theatrical Reissues Are Surging in Popularity
In the early 2000s, theatrical reissues largely withered out because physical home video formats let audiences watch their favorite movies wherever and whenever. Twenty-five years later, technology has advanced, but audience control over their films has retreated. A world dominated by streaming services rather than tangible discs means nobody really owns movies anymore. It’s become infamous how many iconic films are not readily accessible on Netflix, Max, or Prime Video (among other services). Suddenly, there’s scarcity again when it comes to famous motion pictures.
Putting something like Interstellar back in IMAX auditoriums clearly gives moviegoers an experience they can’t replicate at home. However, it also simply delivers them a feature they may not be able to access as easily as they could even in 2015. With movies stuck behind specific paywalls now instead of all being globbed together in a home video aisle at Walmart, theatrical reissues offer a salve for audiences. No buffering or Netflix licensing issues will plague your viewing of Revenge of the Sith or Coraline here.
It doesn’t hurt that a new generation of moviegoers under 30 growing up on Letterboxd reviews treasure the theatrical experience. Such souls want to absorb famous motion pictures like Princess Mononoke on the big screen. Additionally, enough time has passed since projects like Revenge of the Sith were available theatrically that seeing them on the big screen can have real novelty to a fresh crop of film geeks. Plus, these re-releases can satisfy moviegoers craving certain genres that don’t reach the big screen very often as new movies. Major Hollywood studios don’t make a ton of new romantic dramas or concert films, for example. Reissues of Pride and Prejudice and Stop Making Sense can satisfy that genre-specific itch for fans of similar titles.
These factors clearly weren’t just confined to a handful of specific reissues in 2023 and 2024. Already in 2025, Seven and especially Princess Mononoke have procured impressive domestic grosses despite both titles being largely confined to a couple hundred IMAX theaters. Exempting the brief early 2010s digital 3D reissue craze, it truly seemed like theatrical reissues were dead and buried at the dawn of the 21st century. However, those promising advanced ticket sales for Pride and Prejudice and Revenge of the Sith are continuing an incredible comeback for these kinds of titles. Future moneymakers for Hollywood may just come from the “hottest” studio technique of 1976: theatrically re-releasing old movies back into theaters.
