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| Terrace Cinema 6 General manager J. "Sabrina" McGuire says the public is responding to its low prices. |
By Diana L. Chapman
“Mom, you’ve got to write about it,” my son said as he bounced in the door.
It’s not often my 16-year-old suggests I write about anything, so my attention was 100 % focused on what he had to say. He was referring to the new Terrace Cinema 6 on Western Avenue in Rancho Palos Verdes that once belonged to Regal Cinemas.
Star Theatres, which owns four other cinemas in Southern California, took over in February, turning the neglected and aging theater with block-buster low attendance, into a much more polished gem for the surrounding community.
Bravo!
“The tickets are low prices and the picture quality is much better,” Ryan chirped.
“And they remodeled the whole thing,” added his friend, Derek.
When kids give me tips on stories – I check it out. So it wasn’t more than a week later, my husband and I were walking across the new rust-cream colored lobby tile to watch the surreal , dream-state movie, Inception. Everything the boys said was true. We were greatly impressed with the plush, rocking seats – comfort plus – in my book and the new hi-definition digital projection and Dolby sound.
And we weren’t even dreaming; I encourage residents to attend this great facility so it stays in operations. Frankly, I was tired of driving to Torrance or Rolling Hills Estates to get a quality picture. Now, I am reaping the rewards at the overhauled six-screen, 907 seat theater in my own backyard.
Because the owner of Star Theatres is family oriented, the shows playing will tend to reflect movies for all ages and ticket prices are about $2 less than elsewhere.
During the day, tickets range from $4 to $6 before 6 p.m. or after that $9 each. Last I went to a matinee – before the new cinema opened – I was chagrined at paying $8 for a matinee.
For this price, a lot more families can attend. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the cinema hosts $4 tickets all day ($2 additional for all 3-D films.) Senior citizens’ tickets are $4 all day on Wednesday.
In addition, food prices are lower, such as a large jumbo tub of popcorn costs $6, candies range from $2 to $3.50 and drinks range from $4 to $5.
“People are responding to our prices,” said J. “Sabrina” McGuire, a published poet and the cinema’s general manager, who opted to stay with Starlight Theatres when Regal sold it. She was pleased when the new owner immediately pumped money into fixing the uncared for theater. “All of our theaters have new seats, new screens, new projectors.”
Due to the owner, who asked not to be named, the cinema has removed any games with violence, Sabrina said.
The attendance numbers have gone up, she added, explaining when they did $5 tickets for midnight airings of the third Twilight movie, Eclipse, five of the cinemas were packed and the sixth was nearly full.
Starlight Theatres owns four other cinemas, Cinema City Theatres in Anaheim, Triangle Square Cinemas in Costa Mesa, Whittier Village Cinemas in Whittier and 4 Star Cinemas in Garden Grove. Visit the site at http://www.Terrace Cinemas.com or call (310) 831-1100 for further information.
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