Flowood movie theater is reopening. Here's what to expect

Rankin County will again be home to a second major movie theater as Virginia-based Legacy Theaters plans to reopen the former United Artists Parkway Place multiplex in Flowood on Friday, Nov. 10.

Now called Legacy Theaters Parkway, the 10-screen theater has undergone major renovations including the installation of all-new power recliner seats, all new carpeting, and a custom-built concession stand offering Uno’s Pizza, Dippin' Dots, chicken tenders, French fries, all beef hotdogs, Icees and a traditional array of candies, drinks and popcorn.

Ice cold beer also will be available for patrons of age thanks to the installation of a new kegerator.

This will be only the second location for Legacy Theaters, which was founded by owner Robert Harrison in 2017. But Harrison is no newcomer to the theater business, having worked in the industry for more than 16 years. His work in theaters began while a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia and he later served as a longtime manager in the Cinemark chain.

Asked what he thinks sets Legacy apart in an industry dominated by large corporations, Harrison said, “Customer service is the main thing. We want to be the very best theater we can be with the best people we can have.”

Some of the new films already scheduled include “The Marbles” from director David Wilkinson, a documentary about returning of the Parthenon Marbles to their rightful home in Athens, and Disney’s “Wish” which follows a young girl named Asha who wishes on a star and gets a more than she bargained for when a trouble-making star comes down from the sky to join her.

In addition to featuring the latest blockbusters the theater will also host a variety of special screenings presented by Fathom Events.

“These will include live concerts by the Metropolitan Opera, UFC championship fights and classic movies,” Harrison said.

The first daily screenings are expected to begin around 11 a.m. with the final showings starting around 9:30 p.m. Online ticketing will be available and the company will offer gift cards, a rewards program and other amenities for loyal customers.

Ticket prices will be competitive with other multiplex theaters in the area, Harrison said.

The 32,000-square foot cinema was first opened on May 22, 1992 with industry veteran Tom Boswell serving as general manager. It was the second of three United Artists theaters opened in the Jackson metro area, the first being at Northpark Mall in Ridgeland and the third off Interstate 20 in Clinton. The Northpark location is now operated by B&B Theatres while the Clinton theater now serves as a campus for Pinelake Church.

Parkway was hailed at its opening as Rankin County’s first modern multiplex theater and was the only one in the county until 1998 when the competing 17-screen Cinemark Tinseltown (now called Cinemark Pearl) opened.

To better compete with the new theater, a major renovation to install stadium seating was completed at Parkway shortly after Cinemark’s opening. The new seating arrangement offered enhanced sight lines with a longer height difference between each row.

The theater remained popular among patrons for the next two decades but was closed temporarily at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It had more recently reopened by 2022 but was closed again by then-owner Regal Cinemas in January of this year.

Flowood resident Jodi Rush was among the sightseers driving by the theater Thursday afternoon to check up on its progress.

“I used to work here when it was run by United Artists. I loved it and was so sad when it closed. We are super psyched to see it reopen,” Rush said.

Harrison said the theater will have over 600 seats ranging from 132 in its largest auditoriums to 38 in the smallest ones. That is considerably less than the 2,000-plus seats when the theater opened three decades ago, owing to the fact that the new recliners are far more plush and take up more space than what were considered standard theater seats in years past.

Parkway expects to hire between 15 and 20 employees to operate the theater and Harrison said applications are still being accepted. For employment information you may visit the company’s main website (legacytheaters.com) or their facebook page.

Legacy Theaters Parkway is located at 1075 Parkway Blvd., just off Lakeland Drive at Airport Road in Flowood.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Flowood MS movie theater is reopening