Showcase Cinemas offers free movies for kids who fulfill summer reading

As a means to encourage school-aged children to participate in summer reading, Showcase Cinemas announced that it is bringing back its “Bookworm Wednesdays” to offer free movies screenings for select films to kids and their families as a reward.

The program will be instituted throughout the month of July, when on each Wednesday at 10 a.m., participating theaters will screen a family-friendly film, according to cinema chain in a news release on Thursday.

To enter, the kids will need to present a book report during their visit, with seven Showcase Cinemas in Massachusetts and one in Rhode Island offering the promotion. A book report form can be downloaded on Showcase Cinemas’ website.

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An accompanying parent or guardian along with other children under six years old can also receive free admission to the cinemas, but a submitted book report is not necessary for them to get free access, Showcase Cinemas indicated.

The free movie screenings for summer bookworms include:

• Wednesday, July 5 at 10 a.m. “Sonic the Hedgehog” (Rated PG)
• Wednesday, July 12 at 10 a.m. “Paw Patrol: The Movie” (Rated G)
• Wednesday, July 19 at 10 a.m. “Clifford the Big Red Dog” (Rated PG)
• Wednesday, July 26 at 10 a.m. “Sonic the Hedgehog 2″ (Rated PG)

Participating theaters for the “Bookworm Wednesdays” program include:

• Blackstone Valley 14: Cinema de Lux in Millbury
• Showcase Cinema de Lux at Legacy Place in Dedham
• Showcase Cinema de Lux North Attleboro
• Showcase Cinema de Lux at Patriot Place in Foxborough
• Showcase Cinema de Lux Randolph
• Showcase Cinema de Lux Woburn
• Showcase Cinema de Lux at Hanover Crossing
• Showcase Cinema de Lux Warwick in Rhode Island

Showcase Cinemas added tickets must be reserved in advance on the company’s website or mobile app, as walk-up ticketing will not be available and cinemas will not be able to accommodate large groups or summer camps.

Guests who come for the free summer reading movies can also buy a “1-2-3 Go Box” with popcorn, candy and a drink for $5, Showcase Cinemas said.

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“We know how important it is for children to continue reading during the summer when school is out, and ‘Bookworm Wednesdays’ provides a fun incentive for kids and families to read, while also providing them with the opportunity to enjoy a free movie on the big screen at Showcase,” said Rebecca Stein, the company’s vice president of U.S. marketing, in a statement.

Stein added it is one of the company’s “most popular community programs” and that Showcase Cinemas is “thrilled” to bring it back again this year.

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The company has 23 theater locations in the United States and operates nearly 840 movie screens in the U.S., U.K., Argentina and Brazil under the Showcase, Cinema de Lux, SuperLux and UCI brands, it said.