Talk about a diverting way to spend an afternoon. While there may not have been a special edition popcorn bucket in sight or any livestock in attendance, this weekend’s much-anticipated 20th anniversary re-release of Joe Wright’s “Pride & Prejudice” made for a most pleasurable afternoon at the cinema.

And while this writer turned out for a Friday afternoon screening on the Upper West Side — all the better to watch the beloved Jane Austen adaptation alongside a like-minded crowd who simply couldn’t wait for a Saturday or Sunday screening — she was hardly alone in her endeavors.

While Ryan Coogler’s also crowd-pleasing “Sinners” topped the weekend’s box office for its opening and droves of chicken jockey-ing moviegoers are still turning out for “A Minecraft Movie,” Wright’s Keira Knightley- and Matthew Macfadyen-starring gem held its own. The film made an estimated $2.7 million over the weekend,...