to infinity and beyond
Inner loop movie theater reveals renovations, future IMAX addition
The theater will celebrate the renovations with $3 tickets for Regal Crown Club members.
This weekend, Upper Kirby movie house Regal Greenway Grand Palace will give Regal Crown Club members the opportunity to watch $3 movies in its newly renovated auditoriums.
The two-floor, Upper Kirby multiplex has been showing Hollywood blockbusters and award-winning films since its opening in October 1999, back when it was called Edwards Greenway Grand Palace. (Regal Cinemas came in and added “Regal” to the name when it merged with the now-defunct Edwards Theatres in 2002.)
Recently, the theater completed some major work on its prized, second-floor premium auditoriums. The RPX and ScreenX theaters now have recliners with swinging food trays. A new, Pepsi-sponsored 4DX theater has rumbling, rattling, mist-producing seats that’ll have movie goers feeling the action of any movie they see. Plans also include turning one of the main, upstairs auditoriums into an IMAX theater.
Much like their sister theater Regal Edwards Marq*E, the Grand has been through a heavy remodeling process. Gone are the lavish murals of early 20th-century movie stars that covered the walls. They’ve now been replaced with LCD screens showing clip packages of movies either in theaters or coming soon. The downstairs box office has been taken out and replaced with a game room. (People can pick up tickets at nearby kiosks.) And both floors have working concession stands, along with a full bar on the first floor.
“We love this theater and really wanted to continue to make it, you know, a great place for people to come and watch movies,” says Regal Cinemas regional marketing manager Rachel Lueras. “So, we’re really kind of giving it a refreshed look and feel, adding in new premium screens, redoing the seats, new panes — really kind of continuing to take special care of this theater that we love so much in the community.”
On Wednesday, July 30, the Grand officially unveiled these additions with a VIP reception, held in the second-floor lobby. Attendees later gathered in the RPX auditorium for a sneak preview of the new Liam Neeson comedy The Naked Gun. Before the screening, Majic 102.1 personality Kandi Eastman said a few amplified words to the audience about her “magic memories” of hosting movie premieres at the theater. (She even witnessed a wedding proposal there!)
Eastman then introduced Sherry Mulberry, Southern regional operations director for Regal, who gave thanks to all the Grand employees for keeping the ship afloat while other parts were getting remodeled.
“They have my heart,” said Mulberry. “It's the team and the leadership of the Regal Greenway brand, and it's all the smiling faces that you've seen in and around the theater. At Regal, we realized that no matter how fine the location or the marketing, it only works with the right operations team.”
Eastman later told the audience they can come back on Saturday and Sunday, as the theater continues its celebration with $3 movie showings. Regal film buyer Joseph Ranallo and Alzheimer’s Association chief development officer both came up with a big blank check, as Eastman explained that proceeds will be going to the Association. “We're here tonight with a blank check,” said Eastman. “However, with everyone in the room working together, there is no doubt we will be writing a large amount of this check, in support of the Alzheimer's Association.”
