Moonlight Movies looking to open discount theatre in Regina

Second-run movies appear to be coming back to Regina.

In October, the Golden Mile Shopping Centre is expected to welcome Moonlight Movies Cinemas, a discount movie theatre.

It plans to set up shop at the former location of Rainbow Cinemas, which closed down in September of 2022.

Jason Longworth and his partner have experience managing movie theatres. They’ve been running drive-ins for about a decade, including the one in Pilot Butte.

“We’re always talking about (how) it would be nice to get back into the business full-time because the drive-in is just like a fun summer side job,” Longworth said Wednesday.

“So when Rainbow closed, we kind of thought about it for a bit and sat on it and then finally thought, ‘Well hey, let’s talk to the mall and see what can be done’ and it progressed from there.”

The company that ran Rainbow Cinemas said in August of 2022 that the end of the theatre’s lease and lower attendance were the two main factors in the decision to close it.

Attendance didn’t bounce back after the theatre reopened after the COVID-19 pandemic, the company’s president said, with 30 per cent fewer moviegoers compared to what the theatre was seeing pre-COVID.

Longworth said Moonlight Movies is aiming for a tentative mid-October launch, but he hasn’t confirmed a date yet.

In a social media post, Moonlight Movies said admission will be $4.99 per person (plus tax) for all shows and all ages every day except Tuesday. On that day, tickets will cost $2.49 per person for all shows and all ages.

As of now, the self-described mom-and-pop operation is making preparations as to what will be served at the venue when it opens.

Longworth said the previous owners of the Rainbow left behind their popcorn recipe on a wall.

“A lot of people talked about how Rainbow had the best popcorn. Well, fortunately, we know the secret so we’ll be making the same popcorn,” he said.

From what Longworth has seen on social media, he’s anticipating a lot of business.

“With Moonlight Movies, we’ve been doing this for about 10 years — the drive-ins — and whenever we land in a new location and make a post online, it’s always big because we have a huge following,” he said.

“I’ve been overwhelmed the last couple hours. I had no idea how big this was going to be today.  We knew it was going to be busy at the beginning; now we think it’s going to be really busy.”

Longworth said the Rainbow’s year-long absence might be part of the reason for the enthusiasm.

“Sometimes you don’t know what you had until you lose it, right?” he said.