Cinemagic Discount Theater at Freehold
3681 US Highway 9,
Freehold,
NJ
07728
3681 US Highway 9,
Freehold,
NJ
07728
3 people
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Music Makers Circuit renamed this the Freehold Triplex Cinema on February 4, 1977. It then became the Freehold Quad Cinema on October 22, 1982. On November 18, 1983, it became the Freehold Cinema 6. Loews Circuit took over the Music Makers theaters and closed the theatre. It was given one last chance by Cinemagic as a sub-run discount house. August 28, 1997. This location closed December 7, 2000 as the Cinemagic Discount Theater at Freehold with “Almost Famous,” “Best in Show,” “The Contender,” “The Legend of Bagger Vance,” “The Little Vampire,” and “Remember the Titans.” The cinema was replaced by a gym.
was this the theater that used to have a shoe town in front of it? There also was a Jamesway years ago in the shopping center attached. I remember it being called the Freehold Quad at one point and I saw Raiders of the Lost Arc and BLowout. It was a moldy theater from what I remember back in the early 80’s.
This opened on January 24th, 1964 with one screen. Grand opening ad in photo section.
Oh, man….my first real job. Senior year of H.S. I remember this place from forever, though and yes…Music Makers! I remember that opening. First movie I think I saw was ET. I worked there at the end of High School and when I was home from college. Back at the end of it’s hey day before the Metroplex opened. And then a bit after it became the $2 joint. I really was a bit of a POC. From what I recall of the history it was 2, then 4, then 6 theaters I think? Or maybe started as one theater and they initially split those first two on the right into two theaters from one. Anyway, you could see the break in sections between each duo of theaters and in horrible rain theose sections would leak. Amazing place. Was also on two different power grids so we lost power to theaters 5 & 6 while the other 4 were ok or vice versa. Anyone remember the characters that worked there? Most of my time there Whitey and Pat were the main doormen. late 60s at the time, both WW2 veterans. Pat had to sit his whole shift because he had no knees joints or something like that. It really was an overall fun place to work though. At various points I did everything from tickets to concessions to running the booths. As crappy as it was I miss the place too. FWIW there was a whole weird Loews/Sony progression. At one point Sony owned Loews and decided to change all the theater names to Sony, but if I remember, that didn’t pan out well and theaters at some point went back to Loews? Or maybe Sony sold them. I think that was after my time. I don’t live there any more, but when I go visit family it makes me a little sad to go past the place. Same with the Quad closer to Manalapan. I filled in there at times when they needed help and had gone there (though less frequently) when I was younger. It was THE place to go once upon a time, though.
I was a child in the 70’s and remember the Freehold cinema before the days of the Freehold Raceway Mall. (At that time we had the Manalapan Mall which has since been torn down). The cost to go to the movies then was only $2 and that was the going rate at the time. When the price rose to $3 and then $3.50 we couldn’t believe how expensive movies were getting. I can’t remember all the movies we saw there, but I do remember going with all my friends and getting Red Hots at the concession stand and having a contest to see how many we could put in our mouths at once.
I too have been to Work Out World and have looked for clues of the old movie theater. The lobby brings back memories. I can still imagine what it was like to purchase tickets at the ticket window and walk into the theater. I miss it too!
I lived in Manalapan and went to this theater all the time growing up in the 80s. I distinctly remember it as a Music Makers cinema (their logo was 2 letter Ms together). The auditoriums were long, narrow, and quite cavernous. I saw many movies there, including, Raiders of the Lost Arc, Tron, Rocky III, Gremlins, The Muppets Take Manhattan, Back to the Future 2, 2010, The Addams Family, Perfect, and Nothing In Common.
In the mid 90s, they became known in the area as the $2 theater, where they would show second run films. At the time, the Metroplex at the Freehold Raceway Mall was thriving up the road on the south-bound side of Route 9, and Freehold Cinema 6 was not probably the theater of choice in the area. Nevertheless, I remember still going there a lot in it’s later days. I saw Congo, Boogie Nights, Romy and Michelle High School Reunion, The Wedding Singer, The Object of My Affection, and Mulan there later on.
Recently, I stopped by the place when I was looking for a gym to join, for as someone mentioned previously, Work Out World is there now. They gave me a tour, and from walking around, it still seems like the movie theater was there once.
I miss this theater a lot!
I recently joined Work Out World (good gym by the way!). Having been to this theater many times as a teenager, I often look for clues as to what in the theatre design still survives.
The upstairs projection booth is a cardio room.
The lobby (with entrances where one could enter the theatres) is still there.
The concession stand is now a juice bar? Not sure on that one.
Of course the floor has been leveled and there are platforms that hold more cardio machines that I believe are new construction.
What most stood out for me about this theater: ET playing there for eight months in 1982.
When it first became a discount house it was still under the Loews banner, and it was $2.00 all the time, then Cinemagic took it over in 1998 when it acquired the Ocean County Mall Theatre in Toms River and the old Loews Circle 5 in Bricktown. It is now a Work Out World Fitness Center.