Great Escape Theatres

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Great Escape TheatresCompany type| Private

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Industry| Motion Picture Exhibition
Founded| May 1997, Bedford, Indiana United States
Defunct| November 2012
Successor| Regal Entertainment Group
Headquarters| New Albany, Indiana, United States

Key people

| Anne Ragains, CEO

Great Escape Theatres was a movie-theatre chain that operated movie theatres primarily in the Midwestern United States. The chain had its headquarters in New Albany, Indiana, located just across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky. In November 2012, Alliance Entertainment (parent company of Great Escape) sold its movie theatre portfolio (except for the Princess 4 in Oxford, Ohio) to Regal Entertainment Group.[1][2]

## Company history

[edit]

Great Escape Theatre was a private company owned and operated by Alliance Entertainment, which opened its first theatre in Bedford, Indiana, in May 1997. The company continued to further expanded, opening locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Nebraska, Missouri, and Georgia.

In a previously noted statement on the company's website, Great Escape Theatre locations were chosen based on population size, with preferred locations being identified as "mid-size" market areas consisting of populations between 100,000 and 400,000 people.[3]

Great Escape Theatres was sold to Regal Cinemas for approximately $91m in December 2012.

The company operated 305 screens at 26 locations.[4] Thirty-eight additional screens were planned for construction in 2009 and 2010. The chain employed a workforce of over 500 people.

The location in Fenton Missouri, won Best Theatre in the St. Louis, Missouri area in the July 2009 issue of St. Louis Magazine.[5]

A location opened in Simpsonville, South Carolina, in early 2010 and Dickson City, Pennsylvania, in late 2010.

## Management

[edit]

The following individuals composed the operating team for Great Escape Theatres.

* Anne Ragains-President and CEO
* Chance Ragains-Chief Operating Officer
* David Poland-VP of Operations
* Jamie Bowles-Director of Information Technology
* Billy Geltmaker-Operations Administration Manager
* Chris Aulisio-Director of Operations - West
* Frank Mack-Director of Operations - East
* Richard Lintker-Area Manager - Midwest

## Customer perks

[edit]

Great Escape Theatres offers such customer service benefits as online ticket purchase and free concession refills on all large sizes.

Great Escape Theatres also offers an incentive program known as the Critics Choice card. The Critics Choice card is a loyalty card program that allowed members to earn points towards free concessions and other items.

## Theatre locations

[edit]

Great Escape Theatre Locations Theatre | Location | Date Opened or Acquired

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Bedford 7 | Bedford, Indiana | May 1997
Seymour 8 | Seymour, Indiana | May 1999
Oldham 8 | La Grange, Kentucky | Sept.1998 (closed May 7, 2013)
Madison 6 | Madison, Indiana | Sept. 1998
Weston 4 | Weston, West Virginia | Sept. 1998 (closed)
Princess 4 | Oxford, Ohio | May 2000 (closed Nov 2012)[1]
Wilder 14 | Wilder, Kentucky | Jan. 2001
Bowling Green 12 | Bowling Green, Kentucky | May 2002
New Albany 16 | New Albany, Indiana | June 2003
Clarksville 16 | Clarksville, Tennessee | Oct. 2003
Shelbyville 8 | Shelbyville, Kentucky | Nov. 2003
Williamsport 12 | Muncy, Pennsylvania | April 2004
Noblesville 10 | Noblesville, Indiana | Oct. 2004
Greenwood 10 | Bowling Green, Kentucky | Nov. 2004
Wilkes-Barre 4 | Wilkes-Barre, PA | Nov. 2004 (closed 2008)
Massilon 12 | Massillon, Ohio | May 2005
Moline 14 | Moline, Illinois | May 2005
Nitro 12 | Nitro, West Virginia | June 2005
O'Fallon 14 | O'Fallon, Missouri | Sept. 2005
McDonough 16 | McDonough, Georgia | Nov. 2005
Lebanon Valley 10 | Lebanon, PA | July 2006
Omaha 16 | Omaha, Nebraska | Oct. 2006
River Falls 12 | Clarksville, Indiana | Nov. 2006
Harrisburg 14 | Harrisburg, PA | Nov. 2007
Hamilton Mill 14 | Dacula, GA | July 11, 2008
Gravois Bluffs 12 | Fenton, MO | Dec. 19, 2008
Simpsonville 14 IMAX | Simpsonville, SC | April 26, 2010
Dickson City 14 IMAX | Dickson City, PA | November 4, 2010
The Bowling Green 12 Theatre, Bowling Green, KY.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "The Last Picture Show | Oxford Townie". oxfordtownie.com. Archived from the original on 2012-12-01.
2. ^ EON Businesswire [dead link‍]
3. ^ : Great Escape Theatres :
4. ^ : Great Escape Theatres :
5. ^ "A-List 2009". www.stlmag.com. 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2024-04-28.

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