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Triangle Area NC Retro Movie Roundup May 2026 Edition

Moe·
Film

It’s a new month, so you know what that means: A fresh slate of films is hitting cinemas in the Triangle Area of North Carolina. Something of a Movie Mecca, NC’s Triangle Area is home to a slew of venues that regularly screen retro classics on the big screen. In April 2026, I had the pleasure of watching “The Day of the Dolphin” and “Riverbend” back on the silver screen in NC’s Triangle Area.

Here’s your May 2026 roundup of everything that’s playing this month at The Carolina Theatre of Durham, Alamo Drafthouse of Raleigh, Silverspot Cinema in Chapel Hill, The Chelsea Theater in Chapel Hill, The Rialto in Raleigh, The Cary Theater, AMC, Regal, and more.

Carolina Theatre of Durham

The Carolina Theatre of Durham hosts several throwback movie events monthly. Its Retro Film Series double features happen on Fridays, showing a pair of flicks, and tickets are just $12 total. On select Wednesdays, you’ll find three different series — RetroClassics (Golden Age Hollywood flicks), RetroNoir (Noir films) and Kaiju-Quest (giant monster movies). Select Sundays feature Retro Epics (epic films), Retro Rocks (music movies), and the Alfred Hitchcock Film Series (devoted to the late great director). Plus, there are regular film fests on top of the regular weekly series, alongside other throwback cinema screenings.

Here’s everything that’s playing at The Carolina Theatre of Durham in May 2026:

Alamo Drafthouse Raleigh

Raleigh's Alamo Drafthouse
Image Credit: MattSD34, used with permission under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

Raleigh’s Alamo Drafthouse hosts a treasure trove of terrific Cinema on the big screen. You’ll find several series, including Terror Tuesday (horror flicks), Weird Wednesday (outrageous genre movies), Guest Selects (films picked by filmmakers and performers). Movie Parties (featuring interactive props and other amenities), Time Capsules (highlighting particular years), Queer Film Theory 101 (exploring queer subtexts in cinema), and more.

Here are all the retro movies playing at Alamo Drafthouse of Raleigh in May 2026:

Silverspot Cinema, Chapel Hill

Over in Chapel Hill, Silverspot Cinema hosts its Silverspot Selects — also known as Flashback Cinema. Here are the retro films playing at Silverspot in May 2026:

The Chelsea Theater, Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill’s The Chelsea Theater shows a slew of retro treasures back on the big screen. Here’s what you can watch in May 2026:

The Rialto

In Raleigh, The Rialto plays a solid lineup of retro films each month, including regular Rocky Horror Picture Show screenings.

Here are the classic films you can watch at The Rialto in May 2026:

The Cary Theater

The Cary Theater (which is in Cary, NC, as the name suggests) has a great lineup of movies on the docket for May 2026:

The Lumina

Over in Chapel Hill, The Lumina plays a smattering of retro movies. With the weather warming up, The Lumina will be showing some retro movies on the lawn as part of its Movies at the Green series. Here’s what you can watch in May 2026:

Fathom Events

Fathom Events brings a smorgasbord of cinema classics to select theaters. Participating Fathom Events Triangle Area NC locations include AMC Southpoint 17, Regal Brier Creek, Paragon Theaters Fenton + Axis 15th Extreme, Cinemark Bistro Raleigh, Regal Crossroads and IMAX in Cary, Regal North Hills in Raleigh, and Marquee Cinemas Wakefield Commons 12 in Raleigh.

Here are the throwback films Fathom Events is bringing back to the box office in May 2026:

Regal Cinemas

Regal Cinema Irvine
Image Credit: Sewageboy, used with permission under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Over at Regal Cinemas, you can watch select retro movies on the big screen. There are several Regal movie theatres in the Triangle Area, including Regal Brier Creek in Raleigh, Regal Crossroads in Cary, and Regal North Hills in Raleigh.

Here are the throwback movies coming to Regal in May 2026:

AMC

AMC Theater Times Square
Image Credit: Epicsunwarrior, used with permission under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License

AMC features retro cinema back at the box office. You can find several AMC Theatres in the Triangle Area, including AMC Southpoint 17 in Durham, AMC Park Place 16 in Morrisville, and AMC Dine-in Holly Springs 9.

Here’s what you can watch in May 2026 at AMC:

What film(s) are you most excited to see on the big screen this month? Comment below to let us know what you’re planning to watch!

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