Thursday September 7, 4:57 am Eastern Time

### Press Release

## General Cinema to Conduct Ninth Nationwide ``StrawVote'' Poll to Predict Presidential Election

### StrawVote Poll Has Accurately Predicted Presidential Winner Since 1968

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 7, 2000-- America's Most Refreshing Presidential Poll Begins Friday

September 8 - Allowing Moviegoers a Chance to Vote for

Their Favorite Candidate

Forget all those other Presidential polls! General Cinema will be allowing film fans of all ages to pick their favorite Presidential contender every time they go to the movies, beginning Friday September 8th.

If past results are any indication, General Cinema's StrawVote® poll may well be one the country's best predictors of whether Gore or Bush will win this year's election. For more than 30 years, StrawVote has accurately predicted the next President of the United States, often within a few percentage points of the actual popular vote.

General Cinema uses its soft drink straws to track voter opinion. Each time a moviegoer orders a beverage at any one of the 135 General Cinema theatres across the U.S., they will have a choice of a Democrat or Republican straw. Twice a week the straw inventories are counted to determine where each candidate stands - both at that theatre as well as at all General Cinema locations nationwide. The results are posted on giant tote boards in each of the company's theatre lobbies.

``We always enjoy conducting the StrawVote poll at our theatres every four years, and our guests really get a kick out of it,'' says Page Thompson, Senior Vice President of Marketing for General Cinema. ``It gives moviegoers of all ages a chance to have a say in the election, and for eight consecutive elections we've correctly predicted the winner.''

``This year, we also have a special 44-ounce plastic collector cup which features the history of StrawVote, trivia questions about who played the President in a variety of movies and an instant win game for one of 2,500 special Presidential Furby toys,'' continues Thompson. ``This will definitely add some fun to StrawVote 2000.''

Professional polling services typically survey approximately 1,000 people. General Cinema's grassroots effort will hear from more than two million Americans during the next two months.

In the 1996 election, General Cinema predicted 46% for Bill Clinton, 38% for Bob Dole and 16% for Ross Perot. The actual results were 49% for Clinton, 41% for Dole and 8% for Perot. In 1988, the StrawVote poll was a mere one percentage point off in the race between Bush and Dukakis.

Launched in 1968, General Cinema's StrawVote is a chance to add some fun and excitement to the moviegoing experience during presidential campaigns for children and adults alike. It is also a completely non-partisan program.

The results of General Cinema's StrawVote 2000 poll will be released on the morning of Election Day, Tuesday, November 7.

General Cinema is one of the nation's largest motion picture exhibitors, with nearly 1100 screens at 135 locations in 23 states nationwide.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON STRAWVOTE AND PAST RESULTS, OR TO ARRANGE A VISIT TO A THEATRE TO TALK WITH MOVIEGOERS ``CASTING THEIR BALLOTS'' PLEASE CONTACT BRIAN CALLAGHAN AT (617)264-8233.

Contact:

         General Cinema Theatres
         Brian Callaghan
         (617) 264-8233

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