During atypical holiday season, here is where to see new movie releases in DFW
During a holiday season that has been anything but traditional, residents across North Texas will have the option this week to take part in a pastime that for many means Christmas: Going to the movies.
Theaters in Dallas-Fort Worth have been re-opening at their own pace since shutting down in the spring over coronavirus concerns, from the outdoor Coyote Drive-In, which opened earlier in the summer, to larger chains like AMC that began reopening their doors in August. It’s been an uphill battle for theaters to get people back in their seats, as box office numbers have hit a 40-year low, and COVID cases and deaths are soaring. For studios, a big Christmas day or week release — like last year’s “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” — is a lot harder in 2020.
But some are making the effort, with the release of the highly-anticipated Warner Bros. film “Wonder Woman 1984” on Christmas Day as well as the Tom Hanks-starring drama “News of the World,” released by Universal. “Wonder Woman” will also be streaming the same day on HBO Max.
There are showtimes of the two movies in the DFW region this week, along with other recent releases and holiday classics, at theaters like AMC, Movie Tavern and Cinemark. The Coyote Drive-in in Fort Worth has been seeing 300 or 400 cars a night over the past week as it has been playing Christmas favorites “Elf” and “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” according to Chris Fortune, the director of operations. The drive-in has been at limited capacity since re-opening over the summer, with 600 spots at its largest screen compared to the typical 1,250.
Starting Christmas day, it will be only new releases at the drive-in, with “Wonder Woman 1984” and “News of the World.” Fortune said pre-sale tickets for the movies have been strong, and he’s hoping people will choose to see the colorful blockbuster action of the Gal Gadot superhero movie on the big screen instead of staying at home.
A lot of Christmas traditions have gone by the wayside this year due to the spread of the coronavirus, like packing into a mall to shop, Fortune said.
“When you have your whole family stuck in your house and kids are screaming and you need that break, the movie theater has always been the way to go on Christmas day,” Fortune said over the phone on Thursday. “We are getting, for the first time, really some good first-run movies and we really hope that our audience and the people of Fort Worth, Dallas want to get out and see those movies the way they’re meant to be seen.”
Theaters big and small across the region are hoping the new releases will not only continue a holiday tradition for families out there, but jump start a sorely needed boom of people coming out for new movies. “Wonder Woman 1984,” of course, is a follow-up to a massively successful movie and “News of the World” is the type of well-reviewed Oscar hopeful that has come out on Christmases in years past.
At The Grand Berry Theater in Fort Worth, there won’t be any movies on Christmas, but “The Nightmare Before Christmas” was slated to play on Christmas Eve and starting on Dec. 26 there will be a run of nightly “Harry Potter” movies. Jimmy Sweeney, the founder of the Grand Berry, told the Star-Telegram over Facebook he’s found people have been more responsive to seeing their favorite flicks on the big screen. He and his staff wanted to organize some holiday classics, he said, as well as debut a more seasonal flavor of ice cream for the week, peppermint.
It’s hard to say, Sweeney said, if theaters will see any sort of Christmas week boost with the new releases and the allure of seeing movies during the holidays. He believes theaters have suffered because of the influence of studios pushing back releases, which says to people, “We don’t think it’s worth releasing our movie right now.” There may be a slight uptick due to the new “Wonder Woman,” Sweeney said, but nothing close to a typical Christmas.
Still, he said, he hopes he can give moviegoers “some little sense of hope or normalcy” with some big-screen flicks.
“I think the holidays have always been a really special time for the movies, and to me that revolves around community,” Sweeney said. “Going to a movie theater is such a communal experience, typically made extra special around Christmas because that community includes family that you may not always share that experience with.”
Though health experts have differed on the safety of returning to enclosed spaces like theaters, businesses have been telling customers they’re taking all available precautions.
Sweeney acknowledged it has been a “modified” viewing experience this, with precautions in place like online and contactless ticketing and assigning seats to ensure physical distancing. People can also rent a theater for a private screening, he said.
Chains like AMC, Cinemark and Regal have been offering private rentals as an option for those concerned about sharing a space with others, as well as mandating masks for guests unless they’re eating.
This story was originally published December 24, 2020 at 11:39 AM.
