MYSTIC, Conn. (WTNH) — The classic film Casablanca returned to Connecticut theaters on Wednesday night in a push to give businesses a post-pandemic boost.

The movie theater industry hopes that movies like the upcoming Indiana Jones installment and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will be a much needed boost.

Bill Dougherty, who owns Shoreline Entertainment Group, understands the allure Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman bring to the screen. He said that movie theaters can bring together every demographic.

“You and your family can be watching a great documentary, but next door is some children watching the dancing penguins,” Dougherty said. “It can hit any demographic any given day.”

His theaters in Mystic and Madison showed Casablanca on Wednesday. Dougherty is also working to revive the Westbrook theater.

Whether it’s a beloved classic or a new blockbuster, his goal is to turn every evening into something special.

“I see it every day, I feel it every day,” Dougherty said. “If you go on some of our Google reviews, people talk about that — their first time back at a theater, and how much they missed that.”