Premiere Cinemas bids farewell to Temple mall

TEMPLE, Texas (KWTX) - Premiere cinemas is bidding a farewell to Temple mall at the end-of-the-year according to company officials.

The cinema, which opened on Thanksgiving in 2002 just completed its 20th year of service to the area will be closing their doors for good after Christmas.

“We’ve loved being a part of Temple’s entertainment and economic scene these decades,” said Big Spring-based Premiere’s founder CEO Gary Moore. “I’ve been coming to Temple since I was a kid and it’s been a joy to bring movies here these last two decades. We’ve made a lot of friends and helped make a lot of good memories for a generation of movie-goers so we consider our years here a great success.”

The Premiere opened with 12-screens originally when the mall was under management of Colonial Properties, as Premiere was building a number of cinemas across the country. The cinema was expanded to 16 screens to keep up with the demand and added an IMAX® in 2015, giving Temple the distinction of being among the smallest towns anywhere to have its own IMAX®.

Theatre Director Buffy Lara said the biggest thing she’ll miss is seeing her customers every day.

“We always kept things fun at Premiere and people here actually got involved in our events. I’m going to miss our cosplay events when everyone dressed up in costume; those were always a blast,” Buffy says.

Premiere is going out with a bang this month, featuring James Cameron’s acclaimed “Avatar: The Way of Water” in IMAX® for a limited engagement until the final curtain falls around New Year’s.