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Greater Victoria cinemas gear up for ‘busy, busy, busy’ Dec. 25

If Pierre Gauthier seems as jolly as old St. Nick these days, it’s because he got an early Christmas present.

If Pierre Gauthier seems as jolly as old St. Nick these days, it’s because he got an early Christmas present. “Santa Claus brought us Star Wars,” said Gauthier, general manager of Cineplex Odeon, one of several local cinemas reaping the economic benefits of Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

The movie that is also packing them in at Cineplex’s SilverCity and Westshore Cinemas, Landmark’s Cinema 4 University Heights and Star Cinema should perform well on Christmas Day, Gauthier predicts.

While there’s no place like home to spend the holidays, cinemas are a popular destination on Christmas Day for movie buffs seeking a breather from the seasonal mayhem.

“Movies are an escape from family time, but [something] you can also do with your family, which may make them very popular on Christmas when some may need a little break,” said Cineplex communications director Sarah Van Lange.

There are a variety of reasons why theatres attract a surprising number of moviegoers on Christmas Day, say local exhibitors.

While Boxing Day has traditionally been a big day for moviegoing, business on Dec. 25, when Oscar hopefuls are often released, can be hit and miss, depending on the product, Gauthier said.

One Christmas Day that took him by surprise was in 2001, when Ali opened to big business. It didn’t seem as predictably successful as, say, the latest James Bond franchise picture.

Gauther said he expects Christmas Day at the Odeon this year “is going to be busy, busy, busy” thanks to Star Wars.

“Because of Star Wars it could be the busiest day of the year,” said Andrew Golin, owner of the Capitol 6.

While Golin’s downtown multiplex isn’t playing Star Wars, he expects films playing at Capitol 6 to do well, including Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Pixar’s animated musical fantasy Coco.

“You lose the first show or two because it’s Christmas, but it’s a way to go out and do something,” he said, noting there’s no shortage of blockbusters and family fare during Hollywood’s second-busiest season.

“Movie theatres are pretty much the only thing open on Christmas Day, and Jewish people don’t celebrate Christmas, so they tend to go to the movies,” Golin said.

Gauthier said cinemas downtown also tend to benefit from its growing population and a seasonal influx of tourists staying in nearby hotels who are seeking a diversion.

Rob Denison, general manager of SilverCity, said it was about 23 years ago that he first noticed a surge in film fare with broad appeal that began to make the Christmas season more lucrative.

“It’s the time of year when studios go all out and release those big films. That’s when they’re going to get top dollar,” said Denison, adding that later shows on Christmas Day tend to be busier than Christmas Eve.

Lloyd Poll, owner of Jus’ Stuff, the Nanaimo-based firm that sells novelties, toys, stationary and movie-related merchandise to retailers, has a history of seeing movies on Christmas Day with his family.

Last year, for instance, he went to see La La Land at Nanaimo’s Cineplex Galaxy Cinemas with his wife, June, and their two grown daughters, Holly and Melissa.

“It’s a great way to knock down a long day,” said Poll, adding it has become something of a tradition, albeit an intermittent one. “We were all tired, so we’d go kick off the Christmas movie season.”

Poll said he’s particularly interested in seeing Star Wars: The Last Jedi this year, since he’s selling a lot of related product, and it helps to familiarize himself with new plot developments and characters.

Victoria-based online film writer and promoter Jason Whyte has fond memories of Christmas Day moviegoing.

“It varies year to year,” he said, recalling 2009 was particularly memorable when he went to see Up In the Air at the Odeon.

“The theatre had quite a few people and I remember looking around and asking: ‘What are their stories? Are they just looking for something to do on Christmas Day?’ Everyone has a different story,” he said.

Another reason people are drawn to movies that day, Whyte said, is that it amounts to escapism for those who aren’t able to be with their loved ones over the holidays..

“For some people, I think it’s about companionship.”

For Whyte, the appeal of going to the movies on Christmas Day — as he hopes to do again so he can revisit Star Wars: The Last Jedi — is to experience a sense of community with fellow film lovers.

“Movies are my passion, and it’s a way to celebrate that,” said Whyte, who saw the new Star Wars movie on opening night.

“I just fell in love with it so I have to see it again. It’s a bona fide classic, everything I want in a big-screen movie and more.”

Whyte, a frequent visitor to Austin, Texas for the annual South by Southwest festival, is a big fan of its Alamo Drafthouse Cinema locations that take holiday moviegoing to a new level with film-themed Christmas dinner screenings.

A classic example was when a seasonal screening of A Christmas Story was accompanied by a Chinese dinner.

Repeat viewings of favourite movies at home on Christmas Day is another proverbial pastime — especially before the digital revolution, when movies on DVD and Blu-Ray were often given as Christmas gifts.

Popular titles include National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Planes Trains and Automobiles, A Christmas Story, and darker fare such as Fargo and The Godfather, which Nora Ephron famously embraced at Christmas.

mreid@timescolonist.com