The end for North Shore films

The Laie Cinemas theater had two screens, so it was considered "obsolete"

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Last night was a sad evening for moviegoers and employees at Laie Cinemas, which showed movies for the final time on its two screens.

While Laie residents rallied with signs in front of the movie theater to keep it open, owner Hollywood Theaters of Oregon decided to shut it down due to economic reasons.

The movie theater, though small, was the last one left on Oahu's North Shore. It had operated for more than 25 years at Laie Shopping Center.

Hollywood Theaters President Scott Wallace said that despite lowered ticket prices of $5 for adults and $3 for children, Laie Cinemas was not getting the volume it needed.

Laie resident Judy Keys, a mother of four, said she was concerned that area kids would have nowhere to go for entertainment.

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The lights went dim for the last time at Laie Cinemas yesterday after the final showings of "Nim's Island" and "Drillbit Taylor" at 9:30 and 9:45 p.m., respectively.

Laie Cinemas, a two-screen theater at Laie Shopping Center on Kamehameha Highway, closed its doors for good, leaving the North Shore void of movie theaters.

Owned by Oregon-based Hollywood Theaters, Laie Cinemas had a run of more than 14 years at the location. Previous to Hollywood, other operators (including Holiday Theaters) had run the movie theater dating back to the late 1970s.

Some community residents -- baffled at the sudden closure -- held rallies Wednesday night as well as last night to keep it open.

Their signs said, "Keep our Theater Open" and "We Need Our Theater."

Judy Keys, a 20-year Laie resident who helped organize the rally, said she wished Hollywood Theaters had communicated more with residents.

She said residents would be willing to pay more for tickets to keep it open.

Laie Cinemas offered bargain prices for first-run movies, with adult tickets at $5, $3 during matinees. Students, seniors and children could get tickets for just $3.

On Monday Family Night, tickets also went for just $3.

"I just really want to save our theater," said Keys. "Everyone in the community recognizes we need a theater here. It provides a good service for our community."

She even had a petition, which as of yesterday had hundreds of signatures filling three sheets of paper.

Keys, a mother of four, said she was most concerned for the youth in Laie, who now have nowhere to go for entertainment. She said when the movie theater was closed for two years at one time, close to 20 youths lost their lives while driving to town, looking for entertainment.

She recalls that there used to be a movie theater in Haleiwa which made way for McDonald's after being demolished in the early 1980s.

Movie seekers on the North Shore will now have to drive to Temple Valley Shopping Center in Kaneohe or to Mililani.

But Scott Wallace, president of Hollywood Theaters, told the Star-Bulletin that closing Laie Cinemas was purely an economic decision. Despite dropping ticket prices, there just was not enough volume, he said.

"It's too bad all those protesters didn't ever show up at the movie theater," said Wallace. "The first thing I would tell you is that two-screen theaters are economically obsolete. The community didn't support the theater in sufficient numbers to make it economically viable."

Audiences demand a modern multiplex theater today, said Wallace, with at least 50,000 square feet and 14 screens. Hollywood Theaters is building four such theaters on the mainland. Wallace called these theaters "the future."

Wallace said the decision had nothing to do with the lease with Hawaii Reserves Inc., owners and operators of Laie Shopping Center, with rent at a reasonable rate.

The closing of Laie Cinemas comes on the heels of several other closures by Hollywood Theaters, including the three-screen Enchanted Lake Cinemas in Kailua four years ago and the two-screen Kailua Theatres two years later.

Keolu Center Cinemas, a four-screen movie theater at Keolu Shopping Center in Kailua, also is slated to close at the end of this month when its lease expires.

Wallace cited the same reasons for their closures.

"Keolu is a four-screen theater and it's just too small," he said. "Today's theater needs to be 12 to 14 screens at least."

Hollywood Theaters also operates the Wallace Theatre at Restaurant Row (where movies cost only $1) and seven movie theaters on neighbor islands, including three on the Big Island, three on Maui and one on Kauai.

"This Laie theater is just a vestige of the past," said Wallace. "How many twin theaters are still operating in America?"

Nevertheless, last night was a sad night for Laie residents who enjoyed seeing movies regularly at Laie Cinemas, as well as for 14 employees who lost their jobs.

Assistant manager Julie Reyes said the employees were given only two days' notice via e-mail that yesterday would be their last day.

"The community has been really concerned," said Reyes. "We're just trying to let the company know they should have told us earlier so that the community could have done something. They really cared."

Rod Graham, a former manager at Laie Cinemas (then called Wallace Theatre) who worked there 10 years ago, said he remembers many sold-out nights.

Hollywood had expanded the theater at that time from one screen to two, and upgraded the sound system and air conditioning.

"It's sad," said Graham. "It's like the drive-ins. It's a great family place, great for the kids and the community, especially a rural community like this."

Though the place was worn down, he said, it was a place where young kids could walk to catch a movie.

Other theaters that have become history include the Varsity Theatre on University Avenue, a 1930s landmark that was recently demolished.