Theaters crowded with Christmas Day moviegoers as sales rebound to pre-pandemic levels
MINNEAPOLIS — Going to the movies has become a Christmas Day tradition for some Minnesotans.
The Main Cinema in Minneapolis was crowded with people there to see some of the biggest blockbusters.
"I was invited to a couple other places for Christmas and I thought, 'No, I think I want to scale it down and just watch a movie,'" said Cindy Gauthier, who was seeing "Wicked."
In particular, "A Complete Unknown," the music biopic about Minnesota's own Bob Dylan, was a major draw.
"We have some pretty record-breaking pre-sales today for that one," said Sean Taubenberger with The Main Cinema. "It's completely sold out for the first two showings of our day and we're going to probably sell out our third one, too."
Taubenberger says the star of the movie, Timothée Chalamet, visiting earlier this month really boosted interest.
But moviegoers say it's about more than just the movie; it's about the experience of a theater and quality time with loved ones.
"I do feel good to be here," said Barrett Vann of Minneapolis. "I'm excited. It's nice to feel like this is an event. Especially with streaming and stuff, it's so easy for movies to not feel like an event."
Taubenberger says this is the biggest Christmas for the theater since before the pandemic in 2019.
"There's a certain nostalgia, I think," he said. "Everyone can remember being a child and going to see a movie on a special holiday, and I think that what we're doing here is trying to make everyone, no matter what age they are, remember the child they were when they fell in love with the cinema."