As we’ve predicted right here at CraveOnline, Hollywood’s next big cash grab after remakes and the 3D debacle is probably going to be re-releases of classic films. Doesn’t get much cheaper: studios already know which movies audiences like, they’ve already made their production costs back, so striking some new prints is merely a formality. And it’s worth it to see Ghostbusters at a multiplex for the first time since the early 80’s. Be honest wouldn’t you have preferred to see a nice re-release of Raiders of the Lost Ark instead of ever, ever having to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull?
As previously reported, Ghostbusters is returning to theaters this October. What we didn’t know at the time was whether this was a proper re-release, or a “one night only” special event. Turns out that it’s kind of both. Entertainment Weekly now confirms that Ivan Reitman’s original Ghostbusters will appear in 500 theaters across America… on Thursdays. Yup, just Thursdays, and just for one show per day, starting October 13th through the end of the month. That’s kind of strange, but then again we never could get the hang of Thursdays.
Of course it makes a certain degree of sense. Sony didn’t exactly stake out a release date a year in advance, like most proper big screen releases, so the marketplace is already flooded. Booking the film at select showings just one day a week – a weekday, at that – will prevent the film from getting in the way of other, newer cash cows that actually need a bigger box office take. Don’t forget: Ghostbusters is still one of the most successful movies of all time, outgrossing such famous box office monsters as Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and that’s before you adjust for inflation. (If you do, then it grossed more than Spider-Man and any of the Harry Potter movies.)
Is Sony selling this re-release short with such a limited engagement? Maybe. Or maybe they’ll increase demand by making each showing an event you’ll actually have to line up for. It could go either way.
CraveOnline will be back with more Ghostbusters news after we put the baby down. Hang on. “You’re short, your bellybutton sticks out too far, and you’re a terrible burden on your poor mother!”
