MJR Theatres is running eight weeks of classic holiday films across Metro Detroit, from Gremlins to White Christmas, all at a price that actually fits the season.
Streaming has never been easier, but nothing quite matches watching a holiday classic the way it was meant to be seen — enormous screen, surround sound, bucket of popcorn. MJR Theatres is betting on that feeling with its Big Screen Rewind series, running every week from November 6 through Christmas Day.
Eight beloved films. Eight bucks for a large popcorn and still money left over. Here's how to plan your holiday theatre season around what actually matters to you.
- $5 — Ticket Price
- 8 — Holiday Films
- 7 — Weeks of Showings
MJR Theatres' Big Screen Rewind is a Metro Detroit tradition that leans into something streaming can't replicate: the communal experience of watching a movie you already love in a packed theatre, with strangers laughing at the same jokes and kids seeing a classic for the first time on a screen that fills their whole field of vision.
The $5 ticket price is the real story. At a moment when a standard new-release movie ticket regularly runs two or three times that, MJR is offering eight weeks of holiday programming at a price point that removes the cost as a barrier — a deliberate choice designed to get families back into seats for the season.
Every Film in the Big Screen Rewind
| Film | Dates | Ticket Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gremlins | Nov. 6–12 | Nov. 6–12 | $5 |
| A Christmas Story | Nov. 6–12 | Nov. 6–12 | $5 |
| The Grinch (2018) | Nov. 13–19 | Nov. 13–19 | $5 |
| Christmas Vacation | Nov. 20–26 | Nov. 20–26 | $5 |
| Elf | Nov. 27–Dec. 3 | Nov. 27–Dec. 3 | $5 |
| How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) | Dec. 4–10 | Dec. 4–10 | $5 |
| The Polar Express | Dec. 11–17 | Dec. 11–17 | $5 |
| White Christmas | Dec. 18–25 | Dec. 18–25 | $5 |
How Well Do You Know These Holiday Classics?
Four questions. Each film in the lineup has a story worth knowing.
A Christmas Story is set in a small Indiana town — but the house used for exterior shots is actually located in what city?
- Detroit — Not Detroit — but close-ish to the Midwest setting. The famous house is in Cleveland, Ohio, and has been restored as a museum.
- Cleveland — Correct. The exterior of Ralphie's house is in Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood and is now a tourist destination. The film's Indiana setting was a fiction — Ohio delivered the look.
- Chicago — Chicago is a great guess for a Midwest holiday film, but the exterior shots were filmed in Cleveland, Ohio.
- Cincinnati — The 'C' city you're thinking of is Cleveland — the house is in the Tremont neighborhood and still stands today.
MJR's Big Screen Rewind features two different Grinch films. What years were they released?
- 1999 and 2009 — Close on the decades but off on both years. MJR is showing the 2000 Jim Carrey version and the 2018 animated version.
- 2000 and 2018 — Correct. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) starring Jim Carrey plays December 4–10, and The Grinch (2018) plays November 13–19.
- 1998 and 2018 — The 2018 date is right, but the earlier film came out in 2000, not 1998 — it starred Jim Carrey and played in the December 4–10 slot.
- 2000 and 2020 — The 2000 film is correct, but the second Grinch in the lineup is the 2018 animated version — not a 2020 release.
In the Big Screen Rewind schedule, which film bridges November and December — straddling the month change across its full week-long run?
- Christmas Vacation — Christmas Vacation runs November 20–26, staying entirely within November. The film that crosses into December is Elf.
- The Polar Express — The Polar Express runs December 11–17, well into December. The bridge film is Elf, which starts November 27.
- Elf — Correct. Elf runs November 27 through December 3 — starting in November and ending in the first days of December, making it the literal bridge of the Big Screen Rewind schedule.
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas — How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) runs December 4–10, fully within December. Elf is the film that spans both months.
The lineup itself tells a story about how holiday film culture has evolved. The Big Screen Rewind opens with Gremlins — a film that is technically a Christmas movie and has been debated as such for decades — alongside A Christmas Story, which has its own near-mythological place in the holiday canon thanks to marathon cable airings. By the time White Christmas closes the series on December 25, MJR has covered nearly 70 years of holiday film history in eight weeks.
For Metro Detroit families who grew up catching these films on television, seeing them in a theatre flips the experience. The scale changes everything — jokes land differently in a crowd, and films that feel familiar at home become something closer to an event when the credits roll in a darkened auditorium.
How to Make the Most of Big Screen Rewind
- Pick your film and your window — Each film runs for exactly one week. Once it's gone, it's gone until next year. Use the schedule above to identify the weeks that work for your family.
- Check your nearest MJR location — MJR operates multiple theatres across Metro Detroit. Not every location may show every film — confirm your local theatre's Big Screen Rewind schedule before you go.
- Budget for the group — At $5 per person, a family of four spends $20 on tickets. Factor in concessions and you still have one of the most affordable holiday outings in Metro Detroit.
- Go on a weeknight if you can — A $5 ticket is going to draw crowds on weekends. Weeknight showings typically mean better seat selection and a quieter experience.
- Consider making it a double feature of the season — The schedule runs eight weeks — pick one film for a November outing and plan a second December visit. Two different moods, two different crowds, one very affordable holiday season.
Plan Your Big Screen Rewind Visit
- Tickets: $5 per person: Big Screen Rewind pricing applies to all films in the series, every week, at participating MJR Theatres locations across Metro Detroit.
- Series Runs November 6 through December 25: New film every week. Check the full schedule above to plan your holiday movie nights.
- MJR Theatres — Metro Detroit: MJR operates multiple locations across the metro area. Visit mjrtheatres.com to find your nearest theatre and confirm showtimes.
