Due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Hollywood, there’s likely to be a shortage of new movies to fill all of the available release slots at theaters for the remainder of 2020. But that doesn’t mean cinemagoers won’t have much to see on the big screen. Thanks to the folks at Fathom Events and Turner Classic Movies, 11 all-time classic films from yesteryear are winging their way back to participating theaters.
The TCM Big Screen Classics series is scheduled to begin on July 19th with the re-release of 1990’s Ghost, giving fans another chance to see supernatural romance and sexy pottery. This will be followed by The Blues Brothers on July 26th, before Babe kicks off the following month’s offerings on August 9th.
The program is a varied one and there’s a little something for everyone. Most of the major genres are well represented, with Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho flying the flag for vintage horror and Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind adding a welcome dash of sci-fi to the mix.
News of these reissues will come as a welcome boost to the cinema business, no doubt. The coronavirus crisis forced theaters across the world to close their doors and many may struggle to reopen, especially if there’s a shortage of new films for the punters. Surely getting the chance to see some of the all-time greats on the big screen will coax discerning fans back into theaters and help give industry a jump-start.
There will, of course, be some new releases to enjoy this year as well. Summer blockbusters including Tenet and Wonder Woman 1984Â remain on course for 2020 and the launch schedule will become more fleshed out as we head into the final quarter of the year. Still, the TCM movies will give folks some variety while the release slate is patchy.
You can find the series schedule in full below:
- Ghost – July 19 & 22
- The Blues Brothers – July 26 & 29
- Babe – August 9 & 12
- A League of Their Own – August 23 & 26
- Airplane! – August 30, Sept 1
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind – Sept 13, 14 & 17
- The Shining – Sept 27 & 29
- Psycho – Oct 11 & 12
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – Nov 8 & 9
- Annie – Nov 22 & 23
- Fiddler on the Roof – Dec 13 & 14
