No rice was thrown and no tears fell Thursday when the sleeper hit of 2002, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," made its final walk down the aisle at the Fargo Theatre.
After an unprecedented six-month run, Margie Bailly, the Fargo's executive director, wasn't sad to see it go.
"When I heard the opening bit last night, I couldn't stand to hear it one more time," Bailly said with a laugh. "I could recite those lines by heart."
Though the film's run limited the number of other films that could be shown at the historic theater, she said it was a tremendous success.
"It is by far the highest-grossing film ever shown here at the theater," Bailly said.
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When year-end numbers were tallied in late December, Bailly said the film had already grossed $75,000 for the theater.
The bump at the box office allowed the Fargo to buy things like microphones that had previously been cut out of the theater's capital campaign.
Bailly said the big payoff may be better measured over time. The movie exposed new audiences to the Fargo Theatre, and she hopes they will come back for other films.
Her move to finally drop the film started when she learned Safari 7, a second-run theatre in Moorhead owned by CEC Theatres, added the flick to its lineup.
In mid-July, the Century 10 theater in Fargo, another property of CEC, prematurely dropped "Wedding."
Since CEC's decision to bring it back to one of their theaters last weekend, Rick Solarski, manager at Century 10, said the movie, "has done phenomenal business."
Both Solarski and Bailly say the film is a hit with audiences because it's an inoffensive and romantic comedy with a positive message.
Readers can reach Forum reporter John Lamb at (701) 241-5533
