Great Escape Theatres was a movie-theatre chain that operated movie theatres primarily in the Midwestern

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The chain had its headquarters in

New Albany, Indiana New Albany is a city in New Albany Township, Floyd County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River, opposite Louisville, Kentucky. The population was 37,841 as of the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Floyd County. It ...

, located just across the

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from

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. In November 2012,

Alliance Entertainment Alliance Films (formerly Alliance Entertainment, Alliance Communications, Alliance Atlantis Releasing Ltd, Motion Picture Distribution LP; and also known as Alliance Vivafilm in Quebec; or simply Alliance) was a Canadian motion picture distributi ...

(parent company of Great Escape) sold its movie theatre portfolio (except for the Princess 4 in

Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in northwestern Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion ...

) to

Regal Entertainment Group Regal Cinemas (also Regal Entertainment Group) is an American movie theater chain that operates the second-largest theater circuit in the United States, with 5,720 screens in 420 theaters as of December 31, 2024. Founded on August 10, 1989, it ...

.EON Businesswire

Company history

Great Escape Theatre was a private company owned and operated by

, which opened its first theatre in

Bedford, Indiana Bedford is a city in Shawswick Township and the county seat of Lawrence County, Indiana, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 13,792. That is up from 13,413 in 2010. Bedford is the principal city of the Bedford, IN Micropo ...

, in May 1997. The company continued to further expanded, opening locations in

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

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, and

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. 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. Great Escape Theatres was sold to

Regal Cinemas Regal Cinemas (also Regal Entertainment Group) is an American movie theater chain that operates the second-largest theater circuit in the United States, with 5,720 screens in 420 theaters as of December 31, 2024. Founded on August 10, 1989, it ...

for approximately $91m in December 2012. The company operated 305 screens at 26 locations. 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 St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

area in the July 2009 issue of ''St. Louis Magazine''. A location opened in Simpsonville, South Carolina, in early 2010 and Dickson City, Pennsylvania, in late 2010.

Management

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

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

References

{{Major USA Cinema Chains Defunct companies based in Indiana Economy of the Midwestern United States Economy of the Southeastern United States Defunct movie theatre chains in the United States Regal Entertainment Group