Free Movies for Military Families

A local movie theater is giving a gift of free admission to military families.

UltraStar Cinemas will admit military members and their families starting at 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve, the theater announced today. For the theater's location, .

The company recently bought a location at Rancho California and Ynez roads from The Movie Experience. To read about the buy-out,

“Our nation owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to the United States Armed Forces,” said Alan Grossberg, president and CEO of UltraStar Cinemas, in an emailed announcement. “The annual free admission on Christmas Eve is a way for us to simply say thank you and recognize the efforts of these hardworking men and women.  We hope to have a tremendous number of military families come out and enjoy a complimentary evening of entertainment at UltraStar.”

This will be the fifth consecutive year the company offered this promotion, the company announced.

San Diego-based UltraStar Cinemas is Southern California’s largest privately owned movie theater group, according to the company's spokesperson, Sandy Moul. It runs 144 screens at 14 sites in Southern California and Arizona.