Hot ticket after a cold Christmas: the movies

Maybe it's irresistible flicks or families craving recreation, but theaters always pack them in this time of year.

By LISA GREENE, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published December 27, 2001

OLDSMAR -- The day after Christmas dawned cold and too windy for Adam Hennagir to try out his Christmas gift, a remote-controlled airplane.

So Adam, 13, and his grandfather, Bill Buck, went to the movies instead.

As they chatted about their plans to see Lord of the Rings, other moviegoers crowded into lines behind them, and a loudspeaker periodically boomed announcements about which movie had just sold out -- even at the 20-screen AMC Woodlands Square multiplex.

The day after Christmas is always one of the theater's busiest, said managing director Roland Palot.

"Even though it's a Wednesday, it's basically like a Saturday night at the movies," Palot said.

Palot's theory: Studios save some of the year's best movies for the holidays -- three opened at Woodlands on Christmas Day -- and people are ready to see them.

Something about the sight of tinsel and the sound of carols summons the scent of buttered popcorn.

"People are in a festive mood. They're out of school, out of work, and they're looking for recreation," Palot said.

He'd get no argument from Palm Harbor resident Debbie Gosche and her sons, Matthew, 13, and Jacob, 11. They always go to the movies around Christmas. This time of year, they never have trouble picking a movie the whole family wants to see. Wednesday, it was Lord of the Rings.

"It's fun and it's better than shopping," Gosche said. "'We'll go out for pizza afterward and make a day of it."

Her friend Mary Roble agreed. She and her sons, Andrew, 12, and Mark, 9, will probably see three or four movies during the Christmas break.

"It's a nice family thing to do," she said.

It's also a good way to give family members a break from each other. Clearwater resident Tom Andrade brought his two nieces, Annika and Willow Michie, to the movies to give their parents some free time. The girls stayed warm in oversized sweat shirts as they waited to buy tickets.

Gainesville resident Brian Burns had the same noble intentions: "To give my wife some peace and let her spend time with her sisters."

So he took all five -- yes, five -- of their kids to see Jimmy Neutron.

"It's kind of fun" taking the kids out on his own, Burns said. "People look at you like you're crazy."

Burns shepherded Casey, Sean, Kyle, Ian and Craig through the line, only to discover that only four tickets were left.

Time for Plan B.

"We're going to Kmart and getting a video," Burns said. "Then we'll go home and watch it."

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