Starr's Movies: Rio Grande City lines up for picture show

Starplex 10
4586 E. U.S. Highway 83, Rio Grande City
Information: (956) 488-0574
Movie Line: (956) 488-0570
https://starplex.tstickets.com/starplex.aspx?theatreid=1024

RIO GRANDE CITY -- Anna Landa has a dream.

"You know what I want to do? I want to come in the middle of the week, like a Wednesday night, because it's so close," the 37-year-old Starr County native said Friday, gazing up at the city's brand-new movie theater.

The Starplex 10 opened Friday afternoon to an eager Starr County audience. Residents here usually drive an hour to Mission or McAllen to see new films - there are few entertainment options closer to home.

Landa was in line at the Starplex 10 at noon, buying tickets to an evening showing of Speed Racer for her and her two daughters.

"I don't want to stand in line tonight - it's going to be crowded," she said with a smile.

Although the first official public showing at the theater was at 12:15 p.m. Friday, four theaters' worth of excited elementary and middle school students got to try out the pristine seats first.

The verdict from Ramirez Elementary School's fifth grade was unreservedly positive. Polled by teacher Mona Garcia, most agreed their Starplex was better than Mission's Cinemark Tinseltown USA, the nearest theater.

"We have four auditoriums full to the limit (with students) ... and we've already sold a lot of tickets for today's shows," said Tod Hanna, Starplex's chief operating officer, who traveled to Rio Grande City from the company's Dallas headquarters to oversee the opening.

Even before the savings from the shorter drive for locals is taken into account, tickets here are cheaper than at first-run theaters in Hidalgo County: $5 for children and seniors, $7 for adults after 6 p.m.

The new cinema, tucked behind the Jack in the Box restaurant on U.S. Highway 83, doesn't have a marquee along the busy street, but at night, Hanna said, "the Starplex signs stand out. This is the brightest area in the city."

Outside, lifelong Rio Grande City residents Priscilla and Daniel Garza stood on the sidewalk with their 3-year-old daughter Joanne, waiting for the doors to open. The family had tickets to the first public showing, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, at 12:15 p.m.

Looking at the theater with the dollar store across the parking lot, Daniel Garza nodded.

"It's progress," he said.
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Sara Perkins covers Mission, western Hidalgo County, Starr County and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4472.