December is huge for the entertainment industry. It’s the biggest month of the year for tentpole flicks like this year’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and the new adaptation of Cats. It’s also last call for Academy Awards hopefuls, like Greta Gerwig’s rising-star-studded remake of Little Women and Uncut Gems, a crime drama unexpectedly starring Adam Sandler.

There’s a decent chance you and yours will head to see one of these on Christmas Day. In fact, the theaters and studios are banking on it. They know that few other businesses are open on Christmas, and that people who have the day off are looking for entertaining group activities to pass the time. Every year, in an attempt to take advantage of the trend, several movies are released on Christmas Day itself.

But here’s the rub: many hourly theater employees don’t get the option of taking Christmas off, and they don’t get extra pay either. Christmas is, literally, no holiday for many theater workers.