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Garner Towne Square switches to $2 tickets

By Paul Tambasco
News Editor

On Friday, Aug. 7, Garner Towne Square 10 began showing $2 movies after years of trying to compete with megaplexes touting bigger theaters and luxury seating.

A local couple considers a concessions order at Garner Towne Square 10. PAUL TAMBASCO, GCNT

The move to cheaper films was out of necessity, theater managers say. Since opening in 1997, attendance at Garner Towne Square had gradually eroded as the theater competed with cross-town rival Regal White Oak Stadium 14.

“We were down to the bare bones,” said General Manager Robert Hughes of Carolina Cinemas, the theater’s new owner. The company owns four other theaters across the state. For an independent theater, the change to cheaper tickets is part of standing out, he said.

“We can try some things that corporate theaters can’t,” Hughes said. He said the company is experimenting with different combos and candies.

The company hopes a change in what the house shows, sells and charges will allow it to coexist with White Oak. Hughes thinks they have a valuable experience to sell, particularly in these cash-strapped times. With cheaper tickets, families who can wait for their favorite flicks to go second-run can treat a family of four to concessions for under $20.

The theater joins three other second-run film houses in the Triangle. The theater is looking to capture Garnerians who would have otherwise traveled to Raleigh for their cheap movie fix.

“It takes a lot of gas to make your way to [Carmike Cinemas Blue Ridge 14 in Raleigh],” Assistant Manager Jeremiah Marchant said. “We can save them some money by staying close to home.”

In the cheap seats

Check out what second-run movies are playing now at the new $2 theater:

• Monsters vs. Aliens
• Imagine That
• Star Trek (2009)
• X-Men Origins: Wolverin
• The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009)
• Last of the Lost (2009)
• Terminator Salvation
• Public Enemies
• Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
• I Love You, Beth Cooper

Related articles:

• Garner Towne Square Movie: ‘The Secrets of Johnathan Sperry’

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