For Steven Rodriguez, there’s streaming television viewing at home – and then there’s the movies.

“The experience of the big screen is something you can’t get at home,” Rodriguez said recently at the Cinemark 16 in Harlingen. “Any big movie, a Marvel or DC, we make a date and we’re here. Let’s get our popcorn and watch it on a big screen.”

It’s the movie-returning demographic that the Plano-based Cinemark is aiming for. The big studios are revving up to crank out big films the company hopes will go to movie theaters first. In 2020, the studios were forced to rethink the traditional methods of releasing films as moviegoers stayed home and watched more television.

Movies starring the likes of Tom Hanks went first to Apple TV in 2020 and 2021 before getting to theaters. It’s the exclusivity of new movie releases that Cinemark and others in its industry are working to bring back to theaters. Cinemark executives contend going with new movies first at theaters will lead to more total revenues for the studios when they subsequently send the films to streaming services.

“Content is the biggest factor,” said Caitlin Piper, a senior manager for public relations and corporate communications for Cinemark. “They, (moviegoers), will see it wherever you show it. What we tell our studio partners is that seeing big box office revenues will lead to better opportunities for them in streaming.”

To make that dynamic work means enticing film fans like Rodriguez and his wife, Priscilla, back to the movies. On a recent weekday evening, it appeared Cinemark was having success doing just that as lines to enter the Harlingen theater began forming just before 7 p.m. Cinemark was running a promotion that night as it chose Harlingen as one of its over 300 U.S. theaters to celebrate the company’s movie club reaching over 1.2 million ticket purchases since 2017.

Movie Club members like the Rodriguez couple were treated to a private, free screening of “Top Gun: Maverick,” starring Tom Cruise. 

“Harlingen is a really strong market for us,” Piper said. “The Valley consistently ranks as one of our strongest markets.”

Blockbusters Return

Priscilla Rodriguez recalled those lonesome days of 2020 when she and her husband would drive by the Harlingen Cinemark and see it closed during the shutdown months of that long year.

“It was sad, thinking of all of the movies we saw here,” said Rodriguez, who lives in Harlingen. “Being back, it feels really good, like things are getting back to normal.”

Harlingen’s Cinemark was closed for four months in 2020. When the theater reopened, it was a long climb back to the better numbers it is now seeing. Piper said Cinemark got creative during those slow months when theater attendance was down and the studios weren’t putting out new films. Cinemark brought back old films and classic movies back to its theaters. In some markets, Bollywood films from India were shown while others featured anime movies from Japan.

Those lean times appear to be largely over. Piper said “the cadence of new releases” is nearing what it was before 2020. Blockbuster movies look to be making a comeback. Cruise’s new “Top Gun” has exceeded $1 billion globally in box office revenues. Piper said it is Cruise’s first $1-billion movie in his long career, showing again, she said, the power of studios returning to releasing new movies first at theaters. 

“Cinemark has always believed that the return of moviegoers would happen,” Piper said. “It’s still an affordable way to get out of the house and have an enjoyable time with friends and family.”

Making Adjustments

There are a few noticeable changes at the Harlingen theater.

A sign posted says, “Wipe On Wipe Off,” adding seats receive a cleaning before every movie and encouraging patrons to take a sanitizing tissue if they wish to add to those efforts. Through the Cinemark app, moviegoers can purchase tickets, reserve seats and order items from the concession stand that they can pick up before heading to their movie. It’s all meant to minimize human interactions, Piper said. There’s also more spacing between seats and longer rows. Those sorts of improvements make Priscilla Rodriguez feel better about returning to the movies.

“We waited a bit at the end of 2020,” she said. “We’re back now, pretty much like we were before.”