Most reports suggest that this weekend is going to be a much-needed financial shot in the arm for the theatres, and for a panoply of reasons.

The first, of course, is that most everyone’s got at least some time off here.  Thursday, a federal holiday, is mostly a given for any business that doesn’t want to show up in the newspapers.  The only real exceptions here are emergency services, infrastructure things like the power company, or retail.  Friday is less of a given–people used to talk about how some big name or another–possibly Milken or Boesky–used to make people show up on the day after Thanksgiving, not do so himself, but call the office on a semi-hourly basis to make sure people showed up.  So basically, most everybody’s got either a four-day weekend or a modified three-day, and since the shopping is going to be like DEATH if you believe CNN’s relentless pronouncements, it means people are going to be stuffed full of turkey and not too interested in anything requiring either moving a lot or spending money.

The second is that the theatres are offering up a massive array of choices, possibly even bigger than your Thanksgiving meal.  There’s some leftovers from last weekend that are still spelling serious bank, including Twilight and Bolt, both big family movie names with the kids out of school for the long weekend.   Second, fresh dishes are pouring out of the kitchen–some really high-tension stuff, too, like Quantum of Solace and Transporter 3.  Also look for Australia and Four Christmases to pull their weight as well.

A whole lot of time plus a whole slew of eagerly-awaited movies means that a lot of people might be making the trek to the local theatre this weekend, and that’s a reason for the theatres to be thankful…for a change.

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