It's been a tough summer for movie theaters across the country. U.S. box office numbers haven't been this low since the summer of 1987. But as our Erin Vannella found out, it's a trend the Capital Region seems to have dodged.

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"We went to see ‘Brave’ and we went to see a lot of other movies," said Schenectady resident Madison McDonald. "I can't figure out which movies I've seen."

Too darn many for Schenectady resident Madison McDonald to remember, helping make her a local exception to a national trend.

"Summer overall, we were up quite a bit over last year," said Bowtie Cinema Chief Operating Officer Joe Masher.

That's compared to studio estimates that list U.S. summer box office sales down 6.7 percent from last year going into Labor Day weekend.

Does it surprise you that people wouldn't go to the movies during the summer when they have all this free time?

"Yes, because everyone wants to go to the movies," said McDonald. "You can get slushies and you can get candy and then you get to sit down and watch a really good movie."

"It's something good to do," said Schenectady resident Stephen Ramkissoon. "Bring your kids out, be with your kids as a family, it's the best thing to do."

"We just like to get out every once in a while just because it's something to do different," said Glenville resident Ken Maiella.

Local cinema staff says quality movies have provided the incentive.

"We were lucky to have a great string of movies that came out all summer that started with the ‘Avengers’ and rolled right through to the ‘Dark Knight Rises’ and ‘Hope Springs’ even did very, very well for us," said Masher.

But that still doesn't change the fact 100 million fewer tickets were sold across the country. And for McDonald, that's inexcusable.

What would you say to all those people who decided not to go to the movies this year and stayed home instead?

"That they should next year," said McDonald.