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 March 2026, I had the pleasure of watching “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”, “Cat Ballou”, “Smokey and the Bandit”, and “Lone Wolf McQuade” back on the silver screen in NC’s Triangle Area.
Here’s your April 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 April 2026:
- Wednesday, April 1: The General (1926) — Retro Silents Film Series
- Friday, April 3: The Secret of Nimh (1982) & The Phantom (1996) — Retro Film Series
- Sunday, April 5: Annie (1982) — Retro Epics Film Series
- Wednesday, April 8: Day of the Dolphin (1972) — RetroFantasma Film Series
- Friday, April 10: The Hunger (1983) & Cat People (1982) — Retro Film Series
- Sunday, April 12: Pump Up the Volume — Retro Rocks! Film Series
- Wednesday, April 22: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) — RetroClassics Film Series
- Saturday, April 25: The Lion King (2019) — Sensory Friendly Film Series
- Sunday, April 26: Lifeboat (1944) — Alfred Hitchcock Film Series
- Wednesday, April 29: The Maltese Falcon (1941) — RetroNoir Film Series
In addition to its regular slate of juicy retro programming, Carolina Theatre hosts its RetroGothic films, running April 24 through 26, 2026. Here’s what’s playing at RetroGothic:
- Friday, April 24 and Saturday, April 25: It’s Alive (1974)
- Friday, April 24 and Saturday, April 25: Witchfinder General (1968)
- Friday, April 24 and Sunday, April 26: The Dunwitch Horror (1970)
- Friday, April 24 and Sunday, April 26: The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
- Friday, April 24, Saturday, April 25, Tuesday, April 28, and Wednesday, April 29: Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
- Friday, April 24 and Saturday, April 25: Magic (1978)
- Saturday, April 25 and Sunday, April 26: Burnt offerings (1976)
- Saturday, April 25 and Sunday, April 26: Dracula Prince of Darkness (1966)
Alamo Drafthouse Raleigh

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 April 2026:
- Wednesday, April 1: Stand By Me (1986)
- Wednesday, April 1: The Coca-Cola Kid (1985) — Weird Wednesday
- Sunday, April 5, Monday, April 6, and Tuesday, April 7: The Killer (1989) — Hong Kong Cinema Classics
- Monday, April 6: The Best of Betty Boop
- Tuesday, April 7: Hush (2016) The Shush Cut (A screening of the black-and-white Shush Cut of Mike Flanagan’s cult classic slasher flick) — Terror Tuesday
- Wednesday, April 8: Mind Game (2004) — Weird Wednesday
- Thursday, April 9: City on Fire (1987)
- Friday, April 10: Ghost World (2001)
- Sunday, April 12: The Getaway (1972)
- Sunday, April 12, Tuesday, April 14, and Wednesday, April 15: Jerry Maguire 30th Anniversary (1996)
- Monday, April 13: Pride & Prejudice (2005) — Movie Party
- Tuesday, April 14: High Plains Drifter (1972)
- Thursday, April 16: Police Story (1985)
- Saturday, April 18: Romancing in Thin Air (2012)
- Saturday, April 18: The Master (2012)
- Sunday, April 19 and Wednesday, April 22: Bridesmaids (2011)
- Sunday, April 19: Bridesmaids (2011) — Movie Party
- Monday, April 20: The Big Lebowski (1999) — Movie Party
- Monday, April 20: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: The Movie – Scarlet Bond (2023) — Subtitled
- Tuesday, April 21: Funny Games (1997) — Terror Tuesday
- Wednesday, April 22: Cool As Ice (1991) — Weird Wednesday
- Thursday, April 23: Face/Off (1997)
- Saturday, April 25: Miss Congeniality (2000) — Movie Party
- Saturday, April 25 and Sunday, April 26: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
- Monday, April 27: Celine and Julie Go Boating (1974) — Queer Film Theory 101
- Tuesday, April 28: The Driller Killer (1979) — Terror Tuesday
- Wednesday, April 29: Riverbend (1989) — Weird Wednesday
- Thursday, April 30: Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
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 April 2026:
- Sunday, April 5: Pride & Prejudice (2005)
- Saturday, April 11: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
- Sunday, April 19: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) — 40th Anniversary
- Saturday, April 25: Speed Racer (2008)
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 April 2026:
- Friday, April 3, Saturday, April 4, and Sunday, April 5: Magic Mike XXL (2015)
- Saturday, April 11: Pink Flamingos (1972) & Female Trouble (1974) — PJ Party John Waters Double Feature
- Friday, April 17, Saturday, April 18, and Sunday, April 19: All That Jazz (1979)
- Friday, April 24, Saturday, April 25, and Sunday, April 26: The Punk Singer (2013)
- Monday, April 27: Days and Nights in the Forest (1970)
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 April 2026:
- Monday, April 6: Stop Making Sense (1984)
- Tuesday, April 14: True Grit (1969)
- Friday, April 17: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
- Friday, April 17: The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
- Sunday, April 19: The Apostle (1997)
- Monday, April 20: Half-Baked (1998)
- Wednesday, April 22: Apocalypse Now (1979)
- Tuesday, April 28: The Godfather (1972)
- Wednesday, April 29: The Godfather Part II (1974)
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 April 2026:
- Saturday, April 4: The Princess Bride (1987)
- Friday, April 10: This is Spinal Tap (1984)
- Saturday, April 11: Stand By Me (1986)
- Thursday, April 16: The Martian (2015) — Science Matters: Surviving on Science with guest talk
- Saturday, April 18: When Harry Met Sally (1989)
- Sunday, April 19: 12 Angry Men (1957)
- Wednesday, April 29: Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein (1972)
The Lumina
Over in Chapel Hill, The Lumina plays a smattering of retro movies. As of the time of writing, there are no throwback cinema screenings in April 2026 at The Lumina, but we’ll update if that changes.
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 April 2026:
- Wednesday, April 1, and Thursday, April 2: Ben-Hur (1959)
- Sunday, April 26 and Wednesday, April 29: The Silence of the Lambs (1991) — 35th Anniversary
Regal Cinemas

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 April 2026:
- Wednesday, April 1 and Thursday, April 2: Stand By Me (1986)
- Wednesday, April 1 and Thursday, April 2: Ben-Hur (1959) — Fathom Events Screening
- Sunday, April 5, Monday, April 6, Tuesday, April 7, and Wednesday, April 8: The Killer (1989) — Hong Kong Cinema Classics
- Sunday, April 12, Tuesday, April 14, and Wednesday, April 15: Jerry Maguire (1996) — 30th Anniversary
- Sunday, April 19 and Wednesday, April 22: Bridesmaids (2011) — 15th Anniversary
- Wednesday, April 22: Fight Club (1999) — 4K Remaster
- Sunday, April 26 and Wednesday, April 29: The Silence of the Lambs (1991) — 35th Anniversary (Fathom Events Screening)
AMC

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 April 2026 at AMC:
- Wednesday, April 1 and Thursday, April: Ben-Hur (1959) — Fathom Events
- Sunday, April 5, Monday, April 6, Wednesday, April 8: The Killer (1989) — Hong Kong Cinema Classics
- Sunday, April 12, Tuesday, April 14, Wednesday, April 15: Jerry Maguire (1996) — 30th Anniversary
- Monday, April 20: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Scarlet Bond (2022)
- Tuesday, April 21: Whisper of the Heart (1995) — 4K IMAX
- Sunday, April 26 and Wednesday, April 29: The Silence of the Lambs (1991) — 35th Anniversary (Fathom Events Screening)
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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