Pharaoh 4 Cinema

Pharaoh 4 Cinema is a four-auditorium independent movie theater on the Independence Square at 114 W Maple Avenue in Independence, Missouri. The building opened in 1975 as the Independence Square Cinema and was rebranded Pharaoh 4 Cinema around 2008; it runs current-release films on digital projection alongside “Cinema Night Classics” and retro screenings, with tickets ranging from about $6 on discount days to $12.75 for weekend-evening adults. It sits within the McClain family’s Independence Square portfolio.¹²

Description

Pharaoh 4 Cinema is a four-auditorium independent movie theater on the Independence Square. Now fully digital, it programs current first-run releases alongside recurring special screenings — “Cinema Night Classics” on Friday nights and “Retro Movie Nights.” Ticket pricing runs from about $6 (all-ages discount Wednesdays; senior Thursdays) up to $12.75 for weekend-evening adults, with reduced rates for children, students, seniors, and military; showtimes are posted through the theater’s ticketing system. An auditorium is also available for private rentals.¹

The theater is one of the businesses in the McClain family’s cluster of holdings on and around the historic Square. Its building has been a Square anchor for more than four decades: it opened on June 20, 1975 as the Independence Square Cinema, a four-screen first-run house developed by Mid-America Theatres of St. Louis; after a stretch as a discount “dollar house” it was renovated back to first-run and, around 2008, rebranded as the Pharaoh 4 Cinema.¹²

Ownership and history

Owner	Role	Source
McClain Restaurant Group, Inc. (Ken & Cindy McClain), trading as McClain Enterprises	Owner (Independence Square portfolio)	3
Independence Square Cinema (Mid-America Theatres, St. Louis)	Original developer/operator, opened 1975	2
Globe Cinemas	Independent operator credited in theater-history records after the property’s renovation and Pharaoh rebrand	2

The McClains began revitalizing the Independence Square in 1998 — their first building was the former Katz Pharmacy, which became their flagship, Ophelia’s — and grew the portfolio to roughly fifteen businesses (“18 and counting”). Cindy McClain is president of the group. She grew up in Boulder, Colorado, with family and church ties to Independence rather than being born-and-raised there; the couple’s decades-long preservation of the Square is among the metro’s most consequential local-preservation efforts.³

Sibling businesses in the portfolio: clintons-soda-fountain, cafe-verona, square-pizza, up-dog, el-pico, courthouse-exchange, ophelias-restaurant-inn, main-street-coffee-house, and the parent mcclain-enterprises.

Offerings

• First-run current-release films on digital projection across four auditoriums¹
• “Cinema Night Classics” (Friday nights) and “Retro Movie Nights”¹
• Tiered ticket pricing: ~$6 discount Wednesdays (all ages) and senior Thursdays, up to $12.75 weekend-evening adult; reduced child/student/senior/military rates¹
• Auditorium available for private rental¹

Links

• Official site: https://pharaoh4cinema.com
• Phone: (816) 836-9555¹

Sources

Disputes

Cinema Treasures’ theater-history record credits Globe Cinemas as the independent operator after the property’s renovation and c.-2008 Pharaoh rebrand, whereas the business is placed here within the McClain Enterprises Independence Square portfolio (and the McClains own multiple adjacent Square buildings).²³ Whether McClain currently owns and/or operates the cinema versus serving as landlord to a separate operator is not definitively resolved by the sources retrieved. “

Footnotes

1. Pharaoh 4 Cinema — official site — https://pharaoh4cinema.com — accessed 2026-07-11. Confirms: name “The Pharaoh 4 Cinema”; address 114 W Maple Ave, Independence, MO 64050; phone (816) 836-9555; digital projection; “Cinema Night Classics” / “Retro Movie Nights”; ticket pricing (~$6 discount days to $12.75 weekend-evening adult; child/student/senior/military rates); auditorium rentals; “more than four decades” of operation. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

2. Cinema Treasures — “Pharaoh 4 Cinemas, Independence, MO” — https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/13531 — accessed 2026-07-11. Confirms: opened June 20, 1975 as Independence Square Cinema, four screens, developed by Mid-America Theatres (St. Louis); later a discount “dollar house”; renovated to first-run and renamed Pharaoh 4 Cinemas c. 2008; independent operator (Globe Cinemas) in theater-history record. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

3. KC Independent — “Palatable Pursuits: Trailblazer Cindy McClain” — https://kcindependent.com/palatable-pursuits-trailblazer-cindy-mcclain/ — accessed 2026-07-11. Confirms: McClain Restaurant Group / McClain Enterprises (Ken & Cindy McClain); Cindy McClain president; Square revitalization begun 1998 (first building former Katz Pharmacy → Ophelia’s); grew to ~15 businesses (“18 and counting”); Cindy grew up in Boulder, CO with family/church ties to Independence. ↩ ↩² ↩³