Rolling Acres Cinema
2400 Romig Road,
Akron,
OH
44322
2400 Romig Road,
Akron,
OH
44322
6 people
favorited this theater
Opened August 27, 1976. Small screens, small theaters, and a small lobby render Rolling Acres Cinema a quintessentially mid-1970’s box-style theater.
Opening for business shortly after Rolling Acres Mall’s opening in 1976, General Cinemas operated the theater profitably up until the late-1980’s.
The cinema and mall garnered negative publicity when on March 9, 1991, a fight between two young men outside the theater incited a panic. During the scuffle, a metal sign was knocked over which was mistakenly interpreted as a gunshot. This sent panicked moviegoers and shoppers running through the mall, causing JCPenney’s and May Co. to shut the gates on their lower level entrances until police arrived. Although gangs and the movie “New Jack City” (which was letting out at the time) were initially rumoured to have been the problem, in actuality the scuffle erupted over one man taking the other man’s jacket. Despite this information, mall management still requested that General Cinemas stop showing “New Jack City”, to which General Cinemas declined.
In September, 1992, the cinemas switched to a second-run, $0.99-a-show format, much to the dismay of mall management and tenants. This move was characterized as being bad for the mall, as management preferred to have cinemagoers with extra money to spend shopping, not bargain-hunters.
Citing several years of unprofitability, General Cinemas opted to close the theater with three years still remaining on the lease, on April 1, 1993. The theater was characterized as outdated, particularly at a time when Regal and Cinemark were on a multiplex building spree in the region.
The theater remained dormant until an independent group calling itself Blind Squirrel Cinema reopened the theater on December 15, 2000, with a warm reception from mall management. Interestingly enough, the theater took on hand-me downs, including screens and speaker, from Northfield Cinema (which closed in 1999). This incarnation closed in 2002.
Most recently, the theater reopened independently on November 26, 2003. It offered first run movies at discount prices, presently $6 for evening shows (6pm and after), $3.50 for matinee, and $3.50 all day Tuesday. It was closed on August 30, 2007. The entire mall was demolished in 2017.
Contributed by
ra
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Recent comments (view all 14 comments)
True story. we were at Rolling Acres Cinema for probably one of the last, if not the one, movies there (The Pink Panther, the first remake) And all the workers left during the movie (they werent even doing tickets, just some old guy making random hashmarks on a clipboard sheet)
Well we didn’t know they had all left till after the movie, we went out, and it being over around 10PM… found we were LOCKED IN!! thats right, and we were dancing and making a scene aound the security office, trying to poke in the store with all the swords and sharp shiny things, just trying to be noticed by SOMEONE (this was back in the days we weren’t attached to the hip by cell phones)
Finally someone inside stocking Target heard us pounding on thier door, and we left thru Target… lol that was my last visit to Rolling Acres, there was nothing left after that.
The mall is deserted and stripped of anything valuable.
You couldn’t have gone out an emergency exit inside the auditorium?
This Cinema should be changed to closed.
I think there is a YouTube video of the inside of this theater
August 27th, 1976 grand opening ad in photo section.
Picture was stolen from my Flickr page. I took it and did not give permission for it to be used here.
Tonight on cable channel Viceland, they were inside the abandoned mall, and showed pictures of the inside of the theatre. It showed the old GCC white backed Griggs chairs, the old white formica vending machine wall and candy stand.
This Theatre is Currently Demolished.
1982 marquee photo added credit Mallwalkers Facebook page.
The Rolling Acres Mall Cinema stopped rolling on August 30, 2007. The entire mall was demolished in 2017.