Dolly Parton Returns to the Big Screen as '9 to 5' Heads Back to Theaters

20th Century Studios will re-release the 1980 comedy "9 to 5" in theaters nationwide for one week, from Oct. 9 to 15, giving audiences the chance to watch Dolly Parton's feature film debut on the big screen once again.

The film stars Parton alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as office workers plotting revenge against their grating boss. Colin Higgins directed, Bruce Gilbert produced, and Higgins and Patricia Resnick wrote the screenplay.

Before her death in late August at the age of 80, Parton revealed that she and her co-stars had toyed with ideas for a sequel for years, but "it never happened," she told Huff Post. In 2024, reports surfaced that a remake was in development under Jennifer Aniston's production company, though few updates on the project have followed.

"We have no plans to be in that," Parton said at the time. "But I do wish her the best, because the script I read, I thought, was really good and a new and different take that really brings the office up to date the way that people live now." Parton did leave the door open to contributing original songs to the project, or to rewriting her accompanying hit single "9 to 5" for modern times.

The re-release announcement coincides with "Dolly Parton Day," proclaimed in the state of California, the city of Nashville and other places across the U.S. dedicated to celebrating the late icon. Under the Dollywood Foundation, Sept. 25 — or "9 2 5" — marks "Give Like Dolly Day," which the foundation describes as "a global day dedicated to supporting local Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Programs and honoring Dolly's extraordinary legacy of inspiring children to dream big and develop a lifelong love of reading."

Net proceeds from each ticket sold during the theatrical run will benefit the Dollywood Foundation and Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. The one-week engagement doubles as both a tribute to Parton's screen legacy and a fundraiser for the literacy programs she built — with the Aniston-produced remake, should it materialize, waiting in the wings.