“We’ve had a terrific January and terrific February,” says Martin Betz, COO of the Grand Rapids-based Goodrich Quality Theaters. “Movies like Shades of Grey and American Sniper and SpongeBob and others–we’ve just had a really good couple of months.”
The company, which owns the Quality 16 multiplex in Scio Twp., “had a lumpy year last year,” Betz says. “The whole industry did.” But defying dire predictions that theaters will soon be obsolete, Goodrich has just completed a $500,000 renovation, its first major face-lift since Quality 16 opened in 1998.
Across town, Texas-based Cinemark, which took over the former Rave Motion Pictures on Carpenter Rd. in mid-2013, is also upgrading, with all-new seating and a redesigned lobby. And Goodrich’s Betz predicts that the good times will continue, thanks to new installments in major franchises like Star Wars. “I think I can say with confidence we’re all looking to hit some records this year.”