Rainy holiday weekend, big business for Triangle theaters

by: Maggie Newland

Posted: May 29, 2023 / 11:23 PM EDT

Updated: May 29, 2023 / 11:37 PM EDT

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — The rainy weather over Memorial Day weekend washed out all kinds of events, but it meant big business for local movie theaters.

The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Raleigh brought plenty of people in out of the rain. Melanie Turner, 14, wasn't disappointed about the weekend's wet weather.

"We got to come here and play games with our cousins, so that was fun," she said.

It wasn't the family's original plan, though.

"We were planning a trip to the beach," said Janene Cameron, adding that a mistake turned into a stroke of luck. "I had waited too late to book the hotel, so we didn't end up going," she explained. "When I saw it was raining all weekend, I was so happy we didn't go."

Plan B fell through as well. "We booked at Treerunners, which is also outdoor, and they cancelled," she said.

Instead, they found every indoor activity they could, from trampoline parks, to opening night of The Little Mermaid to the Alamo for snacks and fun.

"I went to a trampoline park and I went swimming," Israel Cameron, 8, chimed in, clarifying that the pool was indoors.

"Any outdoor plans you had—in the toilet, so we had to have some backups but it's still been a fun weekend," added Janene.

Employees of trampoline parks and movie theaters across the Triangle say they’ve been busy all weekend. An Alamo employee said about 3,500 people were there just on Saturday, and some shows were still sold out Monday.

While the weather wasn't what everyone wanted to see on a holiday weekend, people made the most of it.

"It gave us a chance to stay in relax get a little bit of cleaning done, but mainly just watch some TV and enjoy not doing a lot of stuff," said Tom Clancy, who was looking forward to watching a movie Monday night.

If the weather were nicer, "Might have gone for a bike ride," he said. "But this is just as fun."

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