Family Films: The Wild Robot & Freaky Friday

This is basically a small-town movie-night story, not a big theatrical re-release. The event is a two-film Mother’s Day weekend lineup at the Fallon Theatre on South Maine Street in Fallon, Nevada, running Friday, May 8, and Saturday, May 9. The hook is simple — DreamWorks’ animated “The Wild Robot” is free at 6 p.m., and the 2003 Lindsay Lohan-Jamie Lee Curtis version of “Freaky Friday” plays at 7 p.m. for $1. ### Where is this actually happening? The first thing to clear up is the location. One event listing places it at 71 S. Maine St. in Fallon, and that matches the Fallon Theatre branding in the same listing. A Reno Gazette Journal roundup also folds it into a broader Northern Nevada cheap-events list, which is probably why it can read like a Reno item at first glance. But the specific venue is in Fallon, about an hour east of Reno, not in Reno proper. (stayhappening.com) ### What are the movies? “The Wild Robot” is the newer family title in the pair — a recent animated adaptation of Peter Brown’s book. “Freaky Friday” is the older nostalgia play, specifically the 2003 version with Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, not the 1976 original or the later Disney musical-TV remake. That pairing tells you what the theater is doing here: one current-ish kids’ favorite, one parent-recognizable body-swap comedy. (stayhappening.com) ### What’s the actual schedule? The schedule is the same on both days. “The Wild Robot” starts at 6 p.m. and is free. “Freaky Friday” starts at 7 p.m. and costs $1. That timing suggests these are separate screenings stacked into one evening block, not a double-feature sold as a single ticket. If a family wants the cheapest option, they can just do the first movie and spend nothing. (stayhappening.com) ### Why does the price matter? Because the price is the whole point. A normal multiplex outing for a family can get expensive fast — tickets, snacks, all of it. Here the theater is using a near-zero-cost model as the attraction itself. Free for one film, $1 for the other is less “special engagement” and more community programming — the movie equivalent of a library event with popcorn. (stayhappening.com) ### Is this some wider re-release trend? Not really, at least not from what’s visible here. This looks more like local repertory-style programming tied to Mother’s Day weekend than a national campaign around either title. The RGJ item places it alongside other free and cheap regional events, which frames it as weekend community entertainment, not an industry story about studios pushing these films back into theaters at scale. (stayhappening.com) ### Why pair these two specifically? Because they hit two generations at once. “The Wild Robot” gives younger kids the big animated adventure. “Freaky Friday” gives parents a familiar Disney comedy with early-2000s nostalgia. It’s a neat split-screen strategy — one movie for the current family audience, one for the adults who remember renting DVDs when Lindsay Lohan was everywhere. (rgj.com) ### So what should someone know before going? The main thing is not to misread this as a Reno theater event. It’s in Fallon, and the listed dates are Friday, May 8, and Saturday, May 9, 2026. If you’re planning around it, think of it as a cheap destination outing for families in Northern Nevada rather than a drop-in downtown Reno screening. (stayhappening.com) ### Bottom line? This is a very specific kind of weekend programming — local, inexpensive, and built for families who want an easy outing. The news isn’t that two movies are back everywhere. It’s that one Fallon theater turned them into a Mother’s Day weekend deal that costs somewhere between nothing and a buck. (stayhappening.com)