Bloomfield Hills-based MJR Theatres is bringing five horror classics back to the big screen this fall, charging just $5 a ticket for each showing as part of its recurring Big Screen Rewind program. The lineup runs from September 25 through October 31 across the chain's ten Michigan locations, offering fans a chance to see genre-defining slashers and psychological thrillers the way they were meant to be watched.
According to The Detroit News, tickets for the series are already on sale through MJR's website. The chain operates theaters in Troy, Westland, Clinton Township, Waterford, Warren, Southgate, Chesterfield, and Sterling Heights, giving Metro Detroit moviegoers plenty of options to catch the $5 screenings. MJR's Big Screen Rewind typically rotates genre-themed lineups year-round, and past editions have included holiday films and sci-fi hits, according to C & G Newspapers.
A Slasher Season Kickoff on September 25
The series opens on September 25 with Sean S. Cunningham's 1980 original Friday the 13th, made on a budget of roughly $550,000 that went on to gross $59.8 million worldwide, per historical figures cited by Men's Journal. The film holds a notable place in horror history as the first independent slasher of its kind picked up by a major studio, Paramount, for domestic distribution.
Wes Craven's self-aware 1996 hit Scream follows on October 2. Written by Kevin Williamson, the film was produced for $15 million and earned $173 million globally, figures credited to The Numbers, and is widely regarded as having revitalized 1990s slasher cinema through its satirical take on the genre.
Kubrick's Classic and a Found-Footage Pioneer
Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, adapted from Stephen King's 1977 novel, screens October 9. The 1980 film carried a $19 million budget and grossed $50 million during its initial theatrical run, and despite mixed reviews and modest early box office, it has since grown into a landmark of the horror genre, according to background compiled on Wikipedia.
Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez's The Blair Witch Project screens October 16. The 1999 found-footage film was shot for an initial budget between $35,000 and $60,000 and went on to gross $248.6 million worldwide, helping pioneer viral internet marketing and mainstream the found-footage subgenre. The series closes October 23 with John Carpenter's original Halloween, produced on an estimated $300,000 to $325,000 budget and grossing more than $70 million worldwide, a film credited with introducing villain Michael Myers and helping establish the modern slasher template, per data cited by Boxoffice Pro.
Consolidation and Premium Upgrades Behind the Scenes
The retro pricing sits alongside a period of rapid change for MJR's corporate parent. Belgian cinema operator Kinepolis Group completed its acquisition of MJR for $152.25 million in October 2019, marking its first move into the U.S. theater market after previously buying Canada's Landmark Cinemas in 2017, according to The Bulletin. More recently, Kinepolis agreed in November 2025 to acquire Midwest chain Emagine Entertainment for $105 million plus up to $15 million in potential performance earn-outs, a deal that added 14 cinema complexes and 177 screens across Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, as reported by Boxoffice Pro.
MJR has also been investing heavily in premium formats even as it leans on nostalgia pricing. The chain opened Michigan's largest laser-projected IMAX screen at its Troy location, a project Hoodline covered in its earlier report on the Troy IMAX debut, alongside 270-degree ScreenX auditoriums in Waterford, Sterling Heights and Westland, plus VIP heated reclining seats and Laser Ultra projection systems.
Why Classic Reruns Matter This Halloween
The renewed emphasis on repertory programming comes as the broader theatrical horror market has cooled. Industry box office analysis from late 2025 found that Halloween weekend ticket sales hit multi-decade lows due to a shortage of major new studio horror debuts, pushing exhibitors to rely more heavily on classic re-releases, per Reuters. That scheduling gap has made $5 repertory series like MJR's an increasingly useful tool for drawing seasonal crowds back into theaters, even as the chain continues to invest in premium large-format screens that stand in contrast to the bargain pricing of its Halloween lineup.
