The struggling Garner Towne Square movie theater has closed, with its owners blaming the slow economy and a lease dispute with the shopping center's landlord.

Friday night was the theater's last. The signs, fixtures and other equipment are gone.

"We really tried. We didn't want to have to do this," said Hope Branch, director of operations for Carolina Cinemas. "We were paying extremely high rent in a dying shopping center. When you're barely in the black, it just wasn't good for our company."