Movies 6
4200 California Avenue,
Bakersfield,
CA
93309
4200 California Avenue,
Bakersfield,
CA
93309
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This is an April 2004 article about the opening of Movies 6.
“The Bakersfield Californian
Byline: Erin Waldner
Apr. 11—Local movie-goers will soon have one more theater choice in Bakersfield — and these are cheap seats.
Bakersfield Movies 6 will hold its grand opening on Friday. The theater is at 4200 California Ave., in the same shopping center as Circuit City.
It’s been several years since the buttery smell of popcorn wafted from this space. United Artists operated a theater there before pulling out around 1997.
Solomon Haddad, who owns C C Brown’s Yogurt across from the theater, is pleased the theater is reopening.
He said families who want to go to the movies but don’t want to spend a fortune will benefit, as will other businesses in the shopping center that will see the increased traffic.
The new operator of the movie theater is Interstate Theatres.
Company Vice President Tod Hanna said Interstate looks for opportunities to move into existing six-screen or larger theaters in communities with the right demographics.
“We felt it was a perfect match for what we were looking for,” Hanna said.
Interstate, headquartered in Plano, Texas, has 10 movie theaters in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, New Jersey and California. The company’s two other theaters in California are in Anaheim and La Mirada.
Hanna said Interstate wants to build a stronger presence in California.
Bakersfield is currently home to three movie theaters, including Edwards Stadium at The Marketplace, United Artists at East Hills Mall and Pacific Theatres at the Valley Plaza Shopping Center.
Hanna said Interstate competes with other movie theaters by offering inexpensive ticket prices.
Tickets are $1 each for all shows before 6 p.m., $1.50 after 6 p.m. and 50 cents on Tuesdays.
Maria Dowling, Interstate’s operations coordinator, said the company’s target audience is families.
Bakersfield Movies 6 will be a “second-run” theater, meaning the movies it shows will have been out at least a few weeks. In some cases, they’re available on DVD and video.
The opening features at Movies 6 will include “Lord of the Rings: Return of the King,” “Butterfly Effect,” “Miracle,” “Mystic River,” “Cheaper by the Dozen,” “Haunted Mansion,” “Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights” and “Along Came Polly.”
Hanna said Interstate theaters are not run-down discount theaters. They are just as nice as any first-run movie theater, he said.
Interstate has renovated the California Avenue venue. The seats have been upgraded and include cup holder armrests. New drapes, floors, screens and a digital sound system are also being installed.
The theater will employ 20 to 30 individuals, Hanna said.
The theatre is currently (10/06) undergong some repairs from an afterhours fire in one of the small auditoriums and should reopen shortly.
The Starplex website shows this theater as “temporarily closed”.