For years people have been flocking to movie theaters across the globe to get a first look at the most recent blockbuster films. Some movies meet expectations and others exceed them, which encourages movie-goers to see the film on the big screen multiple times. Once movies have run their course in the theater, the film company releases the movie on streaming services and in the past, on CDs and VCRs. However, it is difficult to recreate the magic and intensity that a movie theatre holds.  

On May 13, 2021, the beloved classic “Top Gun” movie was rereleased in Dolby Cinema AMC theaters for its 35th anniversary and the much anticipated lead up to the “Top Gun: Maverick” release on May 27, 2022. Fans flocked to theaters for a chance to relive the original film along with younger generations who got the chance to experience the film in all its high-flying glory.  

Caroline Byers (10) is a fan of the “Top Gun” movies and liked the idea of them showing the original film.  

“I thought it was a good idea because it made me know what was going on more in the second movie because them showing the first one refreshed my brain,” Byers said.  

Along with showing some of the untouched classics, film studios have been rereleasing older movies with extended scenes, enhanced editing, and CGI. Disney has rereleased 2009’s  “Avatar” into movie theaters prior the release of “Avatar: The Way of Water.” While Disney has rereleased “Avatar” to build up anticipation, they did make a few changes that may seem minor but made the fictional world of Pandora more beautiful and wondrous than before by improving the image and the sound quality of the entire movie. And it has seemed to work as it has won the Global Weekend Box Office roughly thirteen years after its release date.

Katie Cockrell teaches film studies at SHS and is a fan of the original “Avatar” movie, having seen it over five times, and is excited for the upcoming sequel.  

“For ‘Avatar’ there has been a really large gap between the original and the second film in the series so it will help people remember what the film was actually about while also bringing in a new audience that hasn’t seen the film,” Cockrell said.  

Movies that are being rereleased in theaters today seem to have waited a long time to enjoy the warmth of the spotlight again, but “Spider-Man: No Way Home” is a different story. The Marvel film was released on December 17, 2021 and made a whopping $260 million in the US on its opening weekend. By March of 2022, it had reached $1.89 billion making it the sixth highest-grossing film ever. Hannah Kellam (11) is a big fan of “Spider-Man” movies.

“I think it’s great! We need more added to it,” Kellam said.  

Sony has decided to rerelease “Spider-Man: No Way Home – More Fun Stuff Version” back into theaters Labor Day weekend. The extended film reached an enviable $6.5 million domestic box office gross. 

Many movies tend to be rereleased in theaters when they are approaching an anniversary. Films like “Transformers” celebrated their 15th anniversary by returning to theaters from July 10-14.