Cinema 12

The Meadowdale Cinema I & II opened at the shopping center of the same name on March 25, 1970 with Hayley Mills in “In Search of the Castaways” & Charles Aznavour in “The Adventurers”. It was operated by the Besinger family, as a twin, with both auditoriums seating 1,300. It was leased to the General Cinemas Corp. chain. The theatre became a quad in 1974 when two more auditoriums were added, and four years later, one of the original 650 seat auditoriums was twinned.

On March 25, 1990, Classic Cinemas took over the Meadowdale and remodeled it, including new seats, carpeting, concession area and a large neon sculpture in the lobby area. In 1994, two more screens were added, and a year later, four more screens were built, bringing the total to twelve. The theater is now known as the Cinema 12.

Auditorium 1 features a 50 feet screen with digital projection and 3D. Auditorium 10 also has digital projection and 3D. All auditoriums have HPS 8000 digital sound.

Recent comments (view all 11 comments)

mrpibbles on July 28, 2004 at 3:00 pm

that doesn’t sound good. I saw SM2 at the Raleigh Grande cinema, and the sound system began to give out towards the end, but luckily got through it okay.

MustangMike on November 20, 2006 at 6:50 am

Hey it might be time to pay them another visit. Last year they added a “Grande” screen and 8 track sound to the biggest auditorium. The screen is 50ft wide and the sound is excellent. Although I thought 8 tracks were a thing of the past, maybe they are making a comeback. LOL :0)

Paul Fortini on June 28, 2007 at 7:53 pm

I saw the pictures of this place in the Classic Cinemas website. Was it ever a General Cinemas theatre? The lettering on the signs is similar to other GCs.

William on October 22, 2009 at 11:40 am

At one time this former GCC theatre was equipped with Sensurround.

CSWalczak on April 12, 2010 at 7:42 pm

An article about the Cinema 12 on the occasion of its fortieth anniversary: View link

ChasSmith on December 6, 2010 at 8:07 pm

Does this theater still have its 1970s-era “GCC shadowbox”? I don’t know how old this web page is, but scroll down 9 pictures or so to see it:

http://tinyurl.com/2woo3mw

cvillemoviewatcher on January 16, 2012 at 8:14 am

This is a great community theater for the price. Even though it is a little old, they have up to date movies, free refills on all popcorn and drinks and is very clean. This is the first choice for our family. Great movies, great prices and great service!

DavidZornig on March 18, 2014 at 5:19 pm

Originally opened as the Meadowdale Cinema I & II. Just added a 1972 print ad to the photos section.

50sSNIPES on October 27, 2022 at 8:21 am

The Meadowdale Cinema I & II opened on March 25, 1970 with Walt Disney’s “The Castaways” at Screen 1 and Charles Aznavour in “The Adventurers” at Screen 2.

50sSNIPES on March 22, 2024 at 1:48 pm

General Cinema operated the theater until Classic Cinemas took it over on March 25, 1990.