I really don’t understand why mainstream cinemas don’t show classic movies more often. Obviously, these theaters would need to choose wisely when finding old films to show to a modern audience. One can’t expect a sell out crowd for a clunker like Batman & Robin. Bu when it’s something like Back to the Future, which after 30 years is still a pop culture phenomenon, get ready for a full house.

Last night, the theater in town showed the Back to the Future trilogy and it was outstanding. If you ever have the chance to see your favorite movie with a theater full of strangers who love that movie as much as you do, do it. I never realized that this great movie could be even more entertaining when a room full of people are sharing and expressing the same basic emotions at the same time throughout the film. Most of us in that theater didn’t know each other, but we were all connected by our mutual love for Back to the Future.

Theater owners, what’s keeping you from having classic movie nights on a regular basis? Why do we necessarily need to wait for a special anniversary to make great movies available on the big screen? For a lot of years, Disney would periodically re-release their more popular animated features. After all, Sleeping Beauty was made in 1959, but I saw it in the theater as a kid in the 80’s.

Studios, stop rebooting and remaking franchises. That movie that worked so well 30 years ago still works. Stop wasting money on mediocre copies of those films (I’m looking at you, Footloose). And, really, I’m excited about a new Star Wars movie. But I know I would be just as excited (maybe more so) if I found out that Empire Strikes Back was showing for one night only. And when I say that, I mean the original version… not the special edition crap.

Nostalgia is definitely a thing. Why aren’t you cashing in on it? Here’s a list of movies that you might want to consider giving another chance on the big screen, just to help you brainstorm…

• Raiders of the Lost Ark
• The Princess Bride
• E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
• Halloween (the original, not the Rob Zombie abomination)
• The Karate Kid (the original, not the Jaden Smith abomination)
• Die Hard
• Forrest Gump

Readers, what movie do you want to see again on the big screen? Let me know in the comments. And then write your congressman. That’s what they’re there for, right?UPDATE: As if the brilliance of re-releasing classic movies needed further proof, I just saw an article stating that the one-day release of the Back to the Future trilogy raked in $1.7 million yesterday in North America. Made even more globally. Take that, crappy new movies.