JOE EDWARDS / JEDWARDS@STARBULLETIN.COM
The marquee of the Kailua Cinemas theater is pictured here. The theater is closing tomorrow because of falling demand, despite its owner's move last year to cut movie prices to 50 cents and $1.
Kailua Cinemas
shutting downAll employees will move to the
owner's nearby Keolu Cinemas theater
Kailua Cinemas, the Windward Oahu discount movie theater, is closing its curtains.
Owner Wallace Theaters will show its last film at the Kailua twin-plex tomorrow because of declining demand, said Shaun Ramos, the theater's assistant manager.
All nine employees will be relocated to the company's nearby Keolu Cinemas location, Ramos said.
The move comes less than a year after Wallace began charging 50 cents for movies before 6 p.m. and $1 for movies after 6 p.m. at its Kailua and Restaurant Row locations.
It also comes as competitors Signature Theatres and Consolidated Theatres have opened multimillion-dollar, state-of-the art theater complexes at Windward Mall and the Temple Valley Shopping Center during the past several years.
Last year, Wallace closed its Enchanted Lake location while Consolidated shelved its Waikiki theaters back in 2002.
Located next to the Kailua Daiei store, Wallace has operated the twin-screen theater since the late 1980s when it purchased Holiday Theaters.
Wallace currently leases the 4,300-square-foot property from Daiei and has 18 years remaining on that lease. The company's broker Sofos Realty Corp. said it has had preliminary discussions with potential tenants, which include several church groups.
Including its Kailua and Restaurant Row locations, Wallace operates at a dozen theater locations statewide.
