Movie tickets will be $3 on National Cinema Day. Which Athens theaters are participating?

Andrew Shearer, Athens Banner-Herald
·2 min read
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The Screen X auditorium, where movies are projected in front and along the side walls of the space, at the B&B Theatres location on Lexington Road.
The Screen X auditorium, where movies are projected in front and along the side walls of the space, at the B&B Theatres location on Lexington Road.

If you've been waiting to return to the movies over the past couple of years, theaters around the United States are hoping to encourage you to come back by way of the first annual National Cinema Day, where participating screens will offer discounted tickets for all showings on Saturday.

In Athens, customers will be able to purchase $3 tickets for movies showing at B&B Theaters (1570 Lexington Rd.), Beechwood Cinemas (196 Alps Rd.), Ciné (234 W. Hancock Ave.) and University 16 Cinemas (1793 Oconee Connector). The price does not include sales tax or online/third party ticketing fees.

By comparison, a standard ticket for one adult for an evening showing at B&B costs $11.87. Beechwood charges $9, Ciné charges $9.75, and University 16 charges $12. Though discounts are offered for children, seniors, students and theater members, $3 is the lowest ticket prices have been for first-run movies since the 1980s.

Ciné's Johnny Ray serves up a beer to a patron before the theater reopened to the public on Thursday, May 27, 2021. The theater was closed for more than a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ciné's Johnny Ray serves up a beer to a patron before the theater reopened to the public on Thursday, May 27, 2021. The theater was closed for more than a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Photos: Take a look inside what B&B Theaters did with the old Athens AMC location

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The National Cinema Day discount also includes B&B's immersive Screen X format and University 16's 3-D and GTX Extreme options. The Marvel Studios blockbuster "Spider-Man: No Way Home" is being rereleased to theaters for Labor Day weekend, and audiences who view the film in Screen X will see a specially-formatted version that projects the high-flying actions sequences across the right and left walls of the theater.

University 16 will be showing the original 1974 horror hit "Jaws" in 3-D, which would ordinarily cost $15 for an evening show. Adult price for one evening ticket for B&B's Screen X showings ordinarily cost $20.51 before taxes and service fees.

Though no new releases from major film studios are scheduled for the weekend that National Cinema Day falls on, Ciné will be premiering the fantasy drama "Memoria" starring Tilda Swinton. The Jordan Peele-produced comedy "Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul" starring Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown opens at University 16 along with "Gigi & Nate" and "Burial."

For family audiences, PG-rated options are limited to "DC League of Super-Pets," which has been out since July 29 and "Minions: The Ride of Gru," which has been in theaters since July 1.

Trailer: "Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul." directed by Adamma Ebo

Trailer: "Memoria" directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul

National Cinema Day was launched by The Cinema Foundation, a nonprofit branch of the National Association of Theater Owners that focuses on the development of diverse workforces and moviegoing communities through research, education and philanthropy.

To purchase advance tickets and view full programming schedules, visit athenscine.com, bbtheatres.com/athens-12/showtimes and gtcmovies.com.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Athens movie theaters offering $3 tickets for National Cinema Day