ANDERSON — Thursday’s your last chance to catch a fairly new release for less than $3.
Applewood Cinema, the city’s second-run movie theater, is closing because of slumping sales, its parent company confirmed Wednesday.
“Because of the economy in Anderson, it was just a business decision to close the theater,” said Kelly Owens, marketing and creative director for Goodrich Quality Theatre, the Michigan-based company that owns 30 other movie theaters throughout the Midwest.
“Our parking lot has usually been pretty empty,” Owens added.
Some staff from the 19-year-old Applewood will continue working for Goodrich at the Hamilton 16 multiplex that opens next Friday, manager Josh Vazquez said.
The plan to close Applewood didn’t surprise him.
“I know they’ve been talking about it for a while,” he said. “The final decision was made at the beginning of the week.”
Since 2004, Applewood has operated as a completely “sub run” theater, showing films that had already had six to eight weeks in first-run venues. For their patience, Applewood’s customers could see films for as little as $2.75 most days.
“It’s kind of disappointing that a second-run theater like this wouldn’t be viable enough to keep open,” said Tim Murphy, a former film critic in Anderson who visited Applewood several times a week.
Murphy, 47, said he believed home entertainment was hurting the movie theater industry, and to compensate, theater owners were trying to entice customers with upgrades like the all-digital screens going in at the Hamilton 16.
There were 38,159 indoor movie screens in the U.S. at the end of 2007, or roughly one screen for every 8,000 Americans, according to the National Association of Theatre Owners.
With Applewood gone, Madison County will have 11 screens, 10 at Mounds Mall and one at Alexandria’s Alex Theatre, or about one indoor screen for every 12,000 residents.
As many as 3,500 people a week saw films at Applewood, with family films always bringing the biggest crowds, Vazquez.
Amy James of Anderson brought her two children and two of their friends to Applewood Tuesday night. She said she heard the theater was closing earlier that day.
“I was surprised because it’s a good deal, and a lot of people in Anderson don’t have a lot of money right now,” she said. “I always come here. I hardly ever go to Mounds.”
James, 29, said she brought her kids to the movies three or four times a month, but she doubts she’ll be able to afford that after today.
On her way out of theater, after seeing “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” James commented that she may come back for one last show tonight — “27 Dresses,” without the kids.
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9:54 p.m.: UPDATE: Theater closing
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