CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Top Gun: Maverick has booming box office business, which theaters needed as they continue to recover from the losses they suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We had our first sales in two years,” said Movies Inc. owner Zachary Farnsworth. “So this is – yes – a great moment.”

It has two theaters in Coastal Bend – one in Calallen and one in Aransas Pass.

The latter only opened eight weeks before the pandemic forced them to close both sites for more than a month.

Farnsworth says there were “absolutely” times when he thought his theaters would go bust.

“It was tough,” he said. “But we did, so it’s fine.”
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Now its theaters are starting to see a resurgence with early summer blockbusters hitting the big screen.

Jurassic World: Dominion – released on Friday – will likely continue to bring in the money.

“We’ve just been getting sales and getting back to normal as much as we can,” Farnsworth said. “So that’s great.”

As for the latest installment in the dinosaur movie franchise, some people who watched it at Movies Inc. Calallen Friday liked what they saw.

“It was really good,” said 11-year-old Chloe Lopez. “There were a lot of twists and turns.”

Janie Harper, said “I loved it,” who drove 20 miles from Sandia to see the movie.

More potential blockbusters are in the works in the coming months.

Farnsworth hopes you’ll see them in a theater instead of waiting until you can stream them at home.

“I don’t think you can replace (cinema experience),” he said. “Seeing him with people at the theater, popcorn, coke and all.”