Great Escape Theatres

Great Escape Theatres was a movie-theatre chain that operated movie theatres primarily in the Midwestern United States. The chain had its headquarters in New Albany, Indiana, located just across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky. In November 2012, Alliance Entertainment (parent company of Great Escape) sold its movie theatre portfolio (except for the Princess 4 in Oxford, Ohio) to Regal Entertainment Group.

Company history
Great Escape Theatre was a private company owned and operated by Alliance Entertainment, which opened its first theatre in Bedford, Indiana, in May 1997. The company continued to further expanded, opening locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Nebraska, Missouri, and Georgia.

In a previously noted statement on the company's website, Great Escape Theatre locations were chosen based on population size, with preferred locations being identified as "mid-size" market areas consisting of populations between 100,000 and 400,000 people.

Great Escape Theatres was sold to Regal Cinemas for approximately $91m in December 2012.

The company operated 305 screens at 26 locations. Thirty-eight additional screens were planned for construction in 2009 and 2010. The chain employed a workforce of over 500 people.

The location in Fenton Missouri, won Best Theatre in the St. Louis, Missouri area in the July 2009 issue of St. Louis Magazine.

A location opened in Simpsonville, South Carolina, in early 2010 and Dickson City, Pennsylvania, in late 2010.

Management
The following individuals composed the operating team for Great Escape Theatres.


 * Anne Ragains-President and CEO
 * Chance Ragains-Chief Operating Officer
 * David Poland-VP of Operations
 * Jamie Bowles-Director of Information Technology
 * Billy Geltmaker-Operations Administration Manager
 * Chris Aulisio-Director of Operations - West
 * Frank Mack-Director of Operations - East
 * Richard Lintker-Area Manager - Midwest

Customer perks
Great Escape Theatres offers such customer service benefits as online ticket purchase and free concession refills on all large sizes.

Great Escape Theatres also offers an incentive program known as the Critics Choice card. The Critics Choice card is a loyalty card program that allowed members to earn points towards free concessions and other items.