Big-name movies keep theaters in Middle Georgia's holiday plans
Like a lot of people this holiday season, James Donley is making major motion pictures a part of his plans.
In fact, Donley expects to spend 4 1/2 hours on New Year's Eve watching the newest installments in the "Hunger Games" and "Star Wars" series at the Houston Lakes Stadium Cinemas in Warner Robins.
Donley, from Macon, said he was drawn to that theater for its Georgia Theater Extreme large-format 3D option.
"So I want to catch 'Star Wars' on that," he said.
Once times for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" -- the seventh episode of the iconic series -- are released, Donley said he'd figure out when to watch that one and when to see the "Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part II." Depending on the times available, he may take time to eat a meal between the films.
"'Hunger Games,' I read the books, so I wanted to see the movies," he said.
Chynna Yerby, assistant manager at Houston Lakes Stadium Cinemas, said big-name films like those, along with "Jurassic World," which hit theaters in June, made for a big year in 2015.
"It was pretty steady throughout the year, but it definitely picked up at the end," Yerby said of this year's attendance at the 12-screen theater.
Also, Donley isn't the only one choosing the larger screens of GTX showings for their "Star Wars" experience.
"The GTX ones are mainly the ones selling out, but all of them are pretty full," Yerby said.
"Star Wars" also had a big impact on sales at Macon's AmStar Cinemas on Zebulon Road, where a reported 30,000 tickets were sold in advance for the film.
Christmas Day's movie-going crowd was particularly large at Houston Lakes Stadium Cinemas. Yerby said it was the second-largest crowd in the theater's five-year history, missing the record by about 300 tickets. Yerby did not provide the actual number of tickets sold.
She wasn't expecting similar crowds for New Year's Eve, as people tend to choose parties instead, she said.
Donley said he considered heading back to downtown Macon if time permitted to celebrate the new year there. That isn't likely, though, since the 3D showing is at 10 p.m. Thursday.
"So I may be sitting in 'Star Wars' when the new year rolls in," he said.
This time around, seeing 'Star Wars' was at the top of his priority list, even if it meant watching it solo.
"I hate going to the movies by myself, but when you've got an epic, you go ahead and go," Donley said.
Information from the Telegraph archives was used in this report. To contact writer Jeremy Timmerman, call 744-4331 or find him on Twitter @MTJTimm.
This story was originally published December 30, 2015 at 9:39 PM with the headline "Big-name movies keep theaters in Middle Georgia's holiday plans ."