Long before Tom Hanks befriended a volleyball named Wilson or a shrimp boat captain named Bubba, he was BIG. The fantasy-comedy is celebrating its 30th anniversary. So, Fathom Events, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), and Twentieth Century Fox are bringing back one of the most beloved films of the 1980s to nearly 700 nationwide movie theaters for two days only, July 15 & 18.
Thirty years ago this summer, 12-year-old Josh Baskin uttered a secret wish to a carnival fortune-teller machine and made movie history as he grew up overnight, turning director Penny Marshall’s Big into a box-office smash and one of the defining films of the 1980s.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Big, Fathom Events, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), and Twentieth Century Fox are bringing its magic back to movie theaters throughout the U.S. as part of the yearlong TCM Big Screen Classics series. This special presentation will also include pre- and post-film commentary by TCM Primetime host Ben Mankiewicz.
Filled with the “zip and exuberance of a classic romantic comedy” (The Washington Post), Big is “funny, warm, sophisticated and, above all, imaginative from start to finish” (Los Angeles Times). Tom Hanks stars as the 30-year-old Josh, whose desire to leave childhood behind and become a grown-up comes with consequences he never imagined, leading to an adventure that takes him into Manhattan, where he becomes an executive at a toy company. “Big is the film that really cemented Tom Hanks’ place as a superstar, and it’s easy to see why – it’s one of the sweetest and most charming comedies ever made, and it’s a real pleasure to bring such a beloved film back to movie theaters as a summertime treat thanks to our partnership with Turner Classic Movies,” said Tom Lucas, Fathom Events Vice President of Studio Relations.
While Big became a blockbuster hit for director Marshall and Hanks (who received his first Best Actor Oscar nomination, and the film's screenwriters, Gary Ross & Anne Spielberg, were also nominated), most modern day families and moviegoers haven't seen the American classic in a movie theater on a "big" screen. The classic comedy also stars the talents of Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia, John Heard, Jared Rushton, David Moscow (as Young Josh), and Mercedes Ruehl as the worried mother.
You can search for the nearest movie theater screening Big by using the above image as a link to the official website and purchase tickets at FathomEvents.com. Whether you love rapping "shimmy shimmy cocoa pop" or playing Chopsticks on a massive piano, everyone will love this movie event, which is appropriate for the whole family. How many films can you say that about this summer?