Annabeth Barnes, 15, of Statesville is one of the racers featured in "Racing Dreams." She helped promote the film recently at Hickory Speedway with John Carpenter, Our Town Cinemas' Director of Operations and a driver himself.

After a successful opening weekend that led the nation in ticket sales, Our Town Cinemas is holding over the movie “Racing Dreams” for another week.

Also this week, the eagerly-awaited “Sex & the City 2″ will open at area theaters. A special fund-raising sneak peek is planned Wednesday at Birkdale, while the film also opens Thursday on two screens at Our Town Cinemas.

‘RACING DREAMS’

Our Town Cinemas officials said the premiere of “Racing Dreams” last week was a big success. The Davidson theater had an exclusive opening-week engagement – it was one of only two in the Charlotte region to show the film – and was the top grossing theater in the country for the movie.

Our Town Cinemas gave no sales figures. But owner Curtis Fainn said: “The studio that collects all of the ticket sales information from all the theaters playing the movie called Monday morning to congratulate Our Town Cinemas on being the top grossing theater in the country for the ‘Racing Dreams’ movie.”

The film follows three young racers as they compete in the World Karting Association National Pavement Series. One of the featured drivers is Annabeth Barnes of Statesville, who is now racing Legend and stock cars.

Annabeth and a group of her friends were at opening night and her car was parked all day Saturday in front of the theater, which is in Sadler Square shopping center, off Griffith Street.

Spokeswoman Jan Black said Our Town Cinemas’ promotional efforts helped attract filmgoers. And the theater’s location and the timing of the premiere probably gave it a boost, too. “We are also in the middle of race country with an exclusive showing during race weeks. It had brought a lot of new people to the theater,” she said.

‘RACING DREAMS’ SPECIAL EVENT- On Tuesday, June 1 at 8:00pm, Our Town Cinemas will have a special showing of the movie “Racing Dreams” with Annabeth Barnes and her family. They will be at the theater and will stay for a Q&A and autograph session after the movie. Her late model stock car will be on display in front of the theater.

See our movie showtimes at right for details. For more about the film, see the official website, racingdreamsfilm.com.

‘SEX AND THE CITY 2′

There may be more than a few “girls’ nights out” this week as the long-awaited premiere of “Sex & the City 2″ arrives in theaters.

Our Town Cinemas in Davidson will open “Sex & The City 2″ on two screens on Thursday, May 27. (See movie showtimes at right.)

There’s a sneak peek party and fund-raiser Wednesday in Birkdale, to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Tickets are $100 and include admission to a pre-show cocktail party at Dressler’s Restaurant. Information, contact Bruna Oliveira, 239-823-1105, or BOlivetree@gmail.com.

– David Boraks