The Flame is a nice movie theater with a newly installed Digital Dolby sound system, cushy seats and a wide screen.

But the amenities alone don’t explain why annual attendance at the Wells city-owned theater has increased by thousands of people in the past five years — from about 16,500 in 2001 to 23,000 in 2005. The peak year was 2004 when about 26,000 people saw movies at The Flame.

The historic theater, open nightly Fridays through Tuesdays with a Sunday matinee, shows one new film each week.

There aren’t eight movies to choose from. If you miss the 7 p.m. show, there isn’t another one starting in 20 minutes.

The Flame has one screen and 304 seats. Yet, people still come from as far away as Waterville, Hayward and Mankato to see movies, said theater manager Michael Milks.

“Because it’s cheap,” Milks said. “They’d have to go to a matinee in the middle of the week in Mankato and that still would be (more expensive).”

The low ticket prices — $3 for adults and $2 for children — is definitely a draw, said Ron Hartman of the theater board. A seven-member board of volunteers plus Milks meets regularly to discuss ways to improve the theater and make it more attractive to outside residents.

The city owns The Flame, but the Wells City Council remains fairly hands off, Milks said. Milks determines which movies are shown, among most other decisions about operations.

“I decided if we’re going to show ‘The Passion of the Christ,’ we’re going to show ‘Brokeback Mountain,’” Milks said.

What the city has insisted on is keeping ticket prices the same. Milks thinks prices could be raised slightly without affecting attendance, but the council has opposed the move so far.

“They see it as, they’re providing a service to the town,” Milks said.

Snacks also are cheap. A small popcorn is about $1. A large will cost $5 with butter, which is on par with most commercial theaters.

But soda machines in the lobby make drinks affordable at about $1 apiece, and candy is even less.

That means a family of four, for example, can get in the door for $10 and pay another $10 for snacks.

“We showed ‘Cars’ a while ago and sold out four shows,” Milks said.