Tiny Idaho Theater Surprised By Big Celebrity Who Wanted to See Barbie
The theater he wandered into isn’t owned by one of the mega movie theater operators like Regal, Cinemark or AMC. It’s a small, family-owned and operated chain of just three theaters, all located in Idaho!
Thursday started like any other normal day at the Paramount Theater in Idaho Falls. The staff was there bright and early to serve guests their famous popcorn during the early screenings of Amazing Maurice, which is part of their discount “Kid Show Series.” As the day went on, guests filed in to see flicks like the newest Mission Impossible, Sound of Freedom and Barbie.
It was Greta Gerwig’s record-shattering blockbuster that drew a famous face into the tiny movie theater! On Thursday afternoon, the theater shared this photo of late-night host and comedian, Jimmy Kimmel, posing with two employees outside the theater. According to the theater, Kimmel attended one of their afternoon screenings of Barbie.
Google Maps shows that the Idaho Falls theater is about 45 minutes from South Fork Lodge in Swan Valley. Kimmel and his friend, Oliver White, purchased the lodge in 2020. It recently went viral after actress, Kristen Bell, shared a set of photos on Instagram that included a long table of some very famous faces at the lodge. (Flip to slide three to see the dinner party.)
Jennifer Anniston, Courteney Cox, Jason Bateman, Adam Scott, John Mulaney, Olivia Munn and the other late-night Jimmy (Fallon) were all guests Kimmel’s guests there in early July.
Like anything posted on the internet today, the comments the theater received were all over the place. Some people were upset. Others thought it was very cool that Kimmel, who’s now a business owner in the area itself, chose to support the locally owned and operated movie chain instead of the Edwards Grand Teton theater that Regal owns in Ammon. The theater certainly felt that way!