El Pasoans enjoying first ever National Cinema Day in the United States

EL PASO, Texas - Movie fans spent the day at local theater chains including Cinemark, Alamo Drafthouse and more with $3 movie tickets available on Saturday, September 3rd.

This particular date was picked because Labor Day weekend is usually a slower time for the movie business, and created an opportunity to get theaters packed at the end of the summer movie season, according to Cinemark Director of Public Relations and Public Communications Caitlin Piper.

"If we want to make this an annual event, it makes a lot of sense for it to be during a time that typically doesn't have major releases coming out and labor day weekend is usually when people think about getting out in the sun and the water and that last good, fun trip before getting back to school but there's a lot of good opportunities to get people back into theaters as well," said Piper.

According to Piper, this special day was decided on by the National Association of Theater Owners, who will also be the ones to decide if this becomes an annual event.

Coming out of Covid-19, Piper said that customers have been able to remind themselves about the spectacle of movie going, after not being able to enjoy the cinema during the heart of the pandemic.

"There's really nothing like being in that massive auditorium, in those comfortable seats, with a big screen and the only thing you're there to do is be entertained and be immersed in a new world," said Piper.

Many of the fans in line for National Cinema Day say they may see multiple movies to take advantage of the special deal.