Ohio Goes to the Movies
Achieves Milestone Goal
Screenings in All 88 Counties Bring Communities Together
COLUMBUS, Ohio (August 20, 2026) — When Ohio Goes to the Movies (OGTTM) set its initial goal to host at least one free Ohio-centric movie screening in every county in the state, organizers knew it was a challenging but essential target to achieve statewide participation, ensuring the movie series’ success. Recently OGTTM reached that goal as the final county signed on to host an Ohio Goes to the Movies event in September.
The 88-county number loomed large as the diversity of Ohio ranges from metropolitan areas to rural landscapes. Not all counties have active movie theaters. Ohio doesn’t have more counties than any other state, but with 88, it is in the top 15. By comparison, Texas has the most with 254 counties, and Delaware has the fewest with three counties.
“Setting the goal for all 88 counties to host Ohio Goes to the Movies screenings was ambitious, but it has allowed us to include and unite the entire state, which was a key objective for this signature event of America 250-Ohio,” said Molly Kreuzman, OGTTM program director. “It was a lot of work and a lot of outreach. Neighboring counties saw what others were doing and wanted to get involved and bring OGTTM to their communities building on their own sparkle of creativity. They saw the value of forming partnerships.
“Host venues got creative, partnering with local organizations to present unique movies with ties to their communities at traditional cinemas, historic theaters, drive-in theaters, libraries, key museums, parks and more. More than the screenings themselves, the lasting impact comes from the partnerships built while organizing Ohio Goes to the Movies events.”
Counties Debuting With OGTTM in September
The September lineup includes several counties making their OGTTM debut:
- On September 13, Scioto County will screen “Murder at the Lighthouse” (2025) at Republic Theatres – Portsmouth Cinemas. The movie stars Mark Justice (McDermott) who will be attending the event to support his hometown for a Q & A and autograph session. The actor has appeared in numerous movies and television shows like “The Twisters” (2024).
- On September 20, Gallia County will screen “The Mothman Prophecies” (2002) at the Silver Screen VII in Gallipolis. The movie stars Richard Gere as a reporter who investigates strange cryptid events in a small West Virginia town (opposite the village of Gallipolis on the Ohio-side of the Ohio River.) The film’s popularity led to the launch of the annual Mothman Festival (September 19–20, 2026, in Point Pleasant, West Virginia). The mysterious prophecy is connected to the disastrous 1967 collapse of the Silver Bridge, which opened in 1928 across the Ohio River from Point Pleasant to Gallipolis. The collapse, which sent cars and trucks into the river and claimed 46 lives, was a national tragedy.
- On September 26, the Paulding County Carnegie Library will screen “Little Giants” at OSU Extension building in Paulding. The inspirational tale stars Ed O’Neill (Youngstown).
- On September 24, Huron County’s New London Public Library will screen the remake of “Mighty Joe Young” (1998). The movie is about a young woman who raises an orphaned giant gorilla in Africa and takes him to Hollywood in search of fame and fortune, but Joe escapes and terrorizes the city. The original 1949 movie features Dorothy Granger (New London).
“My co-workers and I heard about OGTTM from another local library in the spring, and that is when we noticed that Huron County was ‘TBD’ (on the OGTTM calendar). That is why I decided to reach out to see if we could help fill the gap,” said Madeline Iarussi from the New London Public Library. “After we reached out to OGTTM, we accessed a database of connections (Ohio Movie Database) specific to our county. To our surprise, we found an actress named Dorothy Granger who was born in New London. I couldn’t believe that our tiny town of less than 2,500 residents had someone who was so popular in Hollywood at the time. Dorothy appeared in the original 1949 version of ‘Mighty Joe Young.’ Although we couldn’t screen the original version due to factors beyond our control, we decided to show the 1998 remake as an homage to Dorothy Granger.”
From Single Movie Screenings to Multi-Film Events
To date, Ohio Goes to the Movies has screened movies in 79 counties. In September alone, there are more than 50 events on the calendar, with some venues hosting more than one movie screening. For example, Shelby County’s Elder Theatre had expanded its September 5 screening of “First Man” to a week-long series of movies celebrating flight and local history (details on the event calendar.)
The biggest OGTTM event runs two days…on September 19 and 20 Dennison Railroad Depot Museum (DRDM) is hosting a unique two-day event with eight movies and corresponding train rides. The movies are “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “Unstoppable,” “Gone with the Wind,” “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” “The Great Locomotive Chase,” “The Sting,” “The Untouchables,” and “Superman.”
Free simultaneous screenings of the four feature films each day will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and guests are encouraged to dress like their favorite character and climb aboard a one-hour themed train ride related to each movie. The round-trip train rides will include corresponding movie characters, trivia and featured movie soundtracks.
“We wanted to showcase iconic films that offered a meaningful connection to Ohio while also embracing the spirit of the railroad. We looked for movies with a train theme that also had an Ohio connection whether through an actor, director, cast member, or another piece of the film’s story. It was a fun way to bring together Ohio’s rich connection to the film industry with our own railroad heritage,” said Wendy Zucal, Executive Director DRDM.
For full details on OGTTM events in September, visit the calendar at OhioGoestotheMovies.org.
September 2026
Ohio Goes to the Movies Events
*Additional dates/events added to calendar for this venue.
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Media Contacts:
Betty Weibel, Yopko Penhallurick, 216-956-4034 | bw@yp-pr.com
Jackie Reau, Game Day, 513-708-5822 | jreau@gamedaypr.com
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