Dolly Parton classics return to theaters for nationwide tribute

Two of Dolly Parton’s best-known films are returning to theaters as AMC and Regal organize retrospectives celebrating the late country icon’s screen career. Steel Magnolias and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas will anchor the tribute across hundreds of showings in the United States.

AMC starts the tribute with six days of screenings

AMC Theatres began special presentations on August 28 at approximately 200 locations, including cinemas in Parton’s home state of Tennessee. Participating theaters are scheduling one matinee of each title every day through September 2 under the chain’s lower-cost Fan Faves program.

Regal is also screening both movies in Tennessee during the opening weekend before expanding the program nationwide on September 5 and 6. The chain says proceeds from its showings will support the Imagination Library, Parton’s literacy initiative that has distributed books to children for decades.

The two selections display different sides of Parton’s film presence. The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, released in 1982, paired her with Burt Reynolds in a musical comedy. Steel Magnolias, released in 1989, placed her within an ensemble drama built around friendship, family and grief in a Louisiana beauty salon.

A communal tribute after her death

Parton died on August 25 at 80 after a brief battle with cancer, prompting tributes across music, film and public life. Theater screenings offer a different form of remembrance from streaming playlists or televised montages: audiences can gather around performances that helped carry her personality beyond country music.

Regal’s charitable component also connects the retrospective to one of Parton’s longest-running public projects. Founded in 1995, the Imagination Library became a central part of her legacy away from the stage.

By choosing one broad comedy and one enduring ensemble drama, the chains are presenting Parton not only as a singer who acted, but as a performer whose warmth, timing and emotional directness translated naturally to the big screen.