BRYAN, TX — We all know about restaurant week, fashion week, there's even shark week, but for the first time ever the nation is celebrating cinema week.
Moviegoers are excited to have major box office films return to the big screens. According to a survey conducted by Fandango, 93% of moviegoers expressed their happiness of feeling safe enough to return to movie theaters.
Andrea Fletcher has a passion for cinema presentations.
“That was the fun part of it is it was working with the projector and as a projectionist learning the craft of presentation,” said Andrea Fletcher, the director of Bryan Premier Cinema.
And she's had this passion for years. Working in the industry for 40 years now she's witnessed the evolution first hand.
“I’ve not only worked with 35mm, I've gotten to experience the evolution of digital,” added Fletcher.
Also witnessing the near-death of the cinema industry.
“It was kind of a strange feeling to close the theater and not operate for the public, not give them an outlet to what was going on,” Fletcher shared.
Bryan premier cinema reopened a year ago this month and customers are excited to be back.
“I love the atmosphere like just a bunch of random strangers getting together and just having this shared experience,” said a community member.
As growing crowds bring more opportunities for new employees, Fletcher says it has been a bit of a struggle to find new hires but is hopeful as she looks forward.
“Looking forward to filling our seats with guests and happy faces and entertaining the community which is what the movie theater is here for,” said Fletcher.
According to Fletcher, the number of customers coming through the doors has picked up by two-thirds over the weekends.
According to Boxoffice Pro, the Independent Cinema Alliance is supporting this celebration recognizing more than 28,000 movie screens nationwide.