Tuesday night movie nights take on a very special meaning for a Cambridge man. For the last 25 years, Timothy Hunter has made it his mission to head to Cineplex Cinemas at Cambridge Centre on Tuesdays to catch a flick. “Being here enhances everything - the quality of the movie, your memory of it, the thrills, the laughs,” Hunter told CTV News. “Everything is just bigger and better on the big screen.” But on Wednesday, Hunter switched up his usual movie night to celebrate a major milestone. “We’re celebrating my 1,000th movie with Street Fighter. It just happened to open this week so that was convenient and also, I’m a huge fan of the video game,” he explained. The tradition started with a spreadsheet he was using to track his movie ratings. “It’s just been growing over the years,” Hunter said. “I didn’t start tracking it with Galaxy [Cinemas staff] until I hit 800. That was a milestone for me because I was like, ‘OK this is getting kind of huge.’” Astra Horner has been the general manager at Cineplex Cambridge for the last 15 years and said Hunter is a welcomed familiar face. “Every time he comes to the movies, he talks to our staff, to our manager. He’s been coming here forever. Everyone knows him really well,” Horner said. “We do have our dedicated guests, regulars that either come on a Friday or Saturday. He always comes on a Tuesday.” Tuesdays at the cinema are considered ‘cheap night’ with reduced ticket prices. Something Hunter said is perfect for a date night with his wife. “It’s $10 ticket. So, for $20, you can’t find a better deal for entertainment out there,” he said. His routine was disrupted by the pandemic, and he will sometimes miss a screening while his family is travelling. However, sometimes even then he still finds his way to a theatre. “I remember seeing Terminator 3 in Santiago, Chile,” he recalled. Making a memorable moment To celebrate Hunter’s achievement, the Cambridge theatre team threw him a party with a photo booth, cake and his very own red carpet. “Shrek in 2001 was his first movie and then I did a little [balloon] set up with Street Fighter 2026,” Horner said. “We wanted to make it really special for him because I’ve never heard of anyone that’s hit such a milestone.” Hunter has rented out the theatre for his friends and family to join him for the screening. “I’ve got friends from primary school that I haven’t seen in like 30 years coming out tonight. I’m really excited to see these people, and people from my church, neighbours,” he said. The milestone is even on the radar of Cineplex’s head office. “We have known and loved having him come in for years, and I think it is only appropriate that we are throwing some love back at him tonight and recognizing him for 25 years,” Sara Moore, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Cineplex, said. Cinema History The 1,000 films Hunter has recorded are ones that he has paid for as an adult. But, he said he’ll never forget his first time at the cinema when he saw E.T. as a little boy. Now he keeps an eye out for upcoming films that pique his interest. “The first of every month, I’ll watch every trailer online for every movie coming out and then narrow it down to four or five,” he explained. “ His favourite movies include Kangaroo Jack and 300. Meanwhile his least favourite, and the only movie he’s ever walked out of, was Solaris with Tom Cruise.
