After 38 years, Ralph Freehaus is ready to roll credits on his career in the movie theater business. “I think it’s time for me to retire and let the internet experts take over for me,” says Freehaus, who owns Cinemagic Theatre in Athens. He tells AL.com he put Cinemagic up for sale about a week ago.
The Cinemagic parcel is about four acres. It includes a single drive-in screen with drive-in capacity for around 80 automobiles, as well as an indoor theater with five screens, 722 seats and roof-mounted solar panels that provide about 25 percent of the theater’s electricity. The asking price is $1. 75 million.
“We haven’t shut the business down,” Freehaus says. “The business is still going and will continue to keep going, and hopefully I can sell to someone that wants to take over showing movies from me.” Before founding Cinemagic with wife Carline Freehaus, who managed the drive-in before retiring a while back, Ralph worked at several different movie theaters in Huntsville and Decatur.
Cinemagic opened in 1997 as a single-screen drive-in. “Jurassic Park” sequel “The Lost World” was the first film shown there. A year later, Freehaus added a second, smaller drive-in screen after the latest “Godzilla” reboot bombed but Cinemagic had committed to running “Godzilla” for several weeks. Freehaus wanted to prevent any future duds from tanking the theater’s entire box-office ever again. The smaller second screen was removed a few years later. An indoor theater was built and then opened in 2006.
Over the years, Freehaus has seen a few movie-worthy moments occur in real-life at his drive-in. People trying to sneak-in other people hidden under blankets in the backseat. People trying to sneak beer in. Naked people in cars. “We find a lot of empty beverage cans on the ground after the movies are over,” Freehaus says.
Recent films shown at the drive-in, located at 1702 S. Jefferson St. S.E., include “Black Widow,” “Jungle Cruise” and “Paw Patrol: The Movie.” Cinemagic welcomes around 100,000 customers each year and employs a staff of five, Freehaus says. “I still enjoy standing in the lobby as the movie gets out, and watching the people with smiles on their faces, and hearing the discussions about the movie they just saw. I entertain people with movies. It doesn’t get much better than that.” His personal all-time favorite films include 1991 music drama “The Commitments” and 1987 fantasy comedy “The Princess Bride.”
In retirement, Freehaus, who is 74-years-old, plans on taking his 1964 Chevrolet Impala to car shows. He and Carlene also want to travel to the last four U.S. states they’ve yet to both visit: Oregon, Washington, Rhode Island and Alaska.
Asked if at-home streaming and the ongoing pandemic, two Death Star-sized challenges the movie industry is facing, influenced his decision to sell Cinemagic, Freehaus says no. “But it’s going to require some more modifications, and so we need a younger person to take over now and adjust with the flow.”
MORE ON CULTURE
Comic-book artist’s journey from Alabama to Batman and Bruce Willis