jfisher@timesrepublican.com
T-R PHOTOS BY JOE FISHER — Plaza 9 employee Alexander Pruitt wipes down the concession counter to help mitigate COVID-19 spread. The theater employees also wipe down seats between showings and spray the entire auditoriums with disinfectant at the end of the day.
Big budget releases were moved and the only disaster movie to create a buzz this year was real life but the show must go on for Plaza 9 Theatres.
The Fridley Theatres location, 2500 S. Center Street, will have five films playing on Christmas Day, hoping to capture some magic with holiday movie goers.
Christmas week is often a big one for theatres leading up to a slower season late in the winter. Last year, “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” grossed $32 million domestically on Christmas Day alone. But this year with the COVID-19 pandemic making some cinephiles hesitant to go out to the theater, the films are underperforming at the box office and studios like Warner Bros are shifting to digital releases. WB announced last week it would release its 2021 slate in theaters and on the streaming service HBO Max simultaneously. The schedule includes films like “Dune,” “The Suicide Squad” and “The Matrix 4.” The first big release to follow this model is “Wonder Woman 1984,” which opened Dec. 16 and will debut on HBO Max Dec. 25.