As far as getting good entertainment for your dollar goes, the Maya Cinemas in downtown Bakersfield can boast of something no other big screen theater in town currently offers. Calling it Classic Series Thursdays, they bring back great films of the past to give audiences another movie-going option at an affordable price.

Along with amenities like stadium seating, reclining seats, self-serve soda fountains and special D-Box motion seats, Maya boasts three 3D theaters to accommodate the increasing number of films shot in that format. The 66,000 square-foot, 16-screen theater located at 1000 California Ave. is only the second in the Maya chain. The first, in Salinas, opened in 2005, and a brand new Maya recently opened in Pittsburg. All three theaters are in California.

Assistant manager Amanda Cantu has been working for the theater for about two years, and she stated that shortly after she started, they did the first Thursday feature in October 2011 for Halloween. The turnout was successful, and then shortly thereafter they continued to feature them every month. She mentioned that the reasoning behind showcasing the classic films was to just simply put those films back on the big screen for the audience to enjoy again.

The biggest deciding factor on the selection of the films was the popularity they enjoyed the first time around, according to Cantu, while adding that the staff decided to change up from month to month, saying, “Every month it’s a different theme, this month is blockbuster films.”

For the rest of September, the movies are “The Princess Bride,” Sept. 20, and “Raiders of the Lost Arc,” Sept. 27. Just last month, and with the popular results from the Thursday night shows, Maya decided to introduce a second night of themed films, called Indie Night Wednesdays with the same 7 p.m. start and $6 admission price as the original model. The films showcased on the Wednesday night shows are commonly referred to as Indie Films, and generally are films that most theaters don’t normally put on.

“It’s the independent films that theatres don’t take on, so we’re bringing them in one day of the week on Wednesdays,” she said. “They’ve been doing really well, so we’re going to keep doing them.”

Some of the upcoming showings are “Queen of Versaille,” Sept. 19, and “2 Days in New York,” Sept. 26.