Back to the Future Day 2026: Oct 21 Theater Re-Release
Back to the Future Day is October 21, and this year Universal is bringing the original film back to US theaters for that one day only. Screenings run in standard auditoriums and in premium formats including 4DX and D-Box, which add moving seats, and tickets are on sale now, according to Universal's announcement as reported by SoCalThrills and Attractions Magazine.
Why October 21
In Back to the Future Part II (1989), Marty McFly and Doc Brown fly the DeLorean to October 21, 2015. They arrive at 4:29 pm on a Wednesday, as Inverse noted in 2015. The media started calling that date Back to the Future Day, Wikipedia says. This year it is 11 years since the film's "future", and October 21 falls on a Wednesday again.
What is on in 2026
- The one-day re-release, Wednesday, October 21. It is the original 1985 film, not Part II, as Attractions Magazine points out.
- Where. The official Back to the Future site lists it as an event across the United States, and Attractions Magazine links Regal Cinemas, AMC Theatres and Cinemark. The reports name only US theaters. Check your local listings for times.
- A cast appearance in Italy. The official events page also lists Christopher Lloyd, who played Doc Brown, at the Como Fun convention in Erba, Italy, on October 17 and 18.
What Part II got right, and wrong
The film's makers said they were going for jokes, not forecasts. Here is how its 2015 stacks up, per Wikipedia's article on Part II.
| In the film | In real life |
|---|---|
| Video calls | Yes. Video chat is everyday. |
| Wall-mounted flat-screen TVs showing several channels | Yes. |
| News drones | Yes. Unmanned drones are used for newsgathering. |
| Self-lacing sneakers | Nike unveiled the self-lacing HyperAdapt 1.0 in March 2016 and sold it in limited numbers in late 2016. |
| Hoverboards | Not as shown. The "hoverboards" that sold in 2015 are self-balancing and do not hover, and a 2014 "working hoverboard" video was a hoax by Funny or Die. |
| Flying cars | No. Co-writer Bob Gale said they knew there would be none by 2015, "but God we had to have those in our movie". |
| Cubs win the 2015 World Series | No. They lost the NLCS to the Mets on October 21, 2015, and won the title in 2016. |
What to expect on the day
For the 30th anniversary in 2015, brands played along. Pepsi sold a limited run of "Pepsi Perfect" bottles that sold out before the day, Universal made a trailer for the fake film Jaws 19, and Nike showed a recreated Mag sneaker with power laces, Wikipedia lists. Prediction: expect the same kind of jokes on October 21, 2026, plus "we are in the future" posts and photos from the 4DX screenings.
