Guarantor Subsidiaries - Condensed Consolidating Statement of Cash Flows (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities	$ 18,552	$ 33,349
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchases of property and equipment	(35,476)	(24,748)
Acquired cash in Digiplex acquisition	429
Theatre acquisitions	(16,575)	(12,318)
Investment in unconsolidated affiliates	(109)
Proceeds from sale of property and equipment	1,408	740
Intercompany receivable/payable	0
Intercompany receivable		0
Other investing activities	(99)	231
Net cash used in investing activities	(50,422)	(36,095)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Short-term borrowings	0
Repayments of short term borrowings	0
Issuance of long-term debt	0
Repayments of long-term debt	(9,099)
Debt issuance costs	0
Repayments of capital leases and long-term financing obligations	(5,217)	(3,052)
Issuance of common stock	23	88,043
Proceeds from Sale of Stock Option	18
Purchase of treasury stock	(1,483)	(174)
Intercompany receivable/payable	0
Intercompany payable		0
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities	(15,758)	84,817
Increase in cash and cash equivalents	(47,628)	82,071
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period	143,867	68,531
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	96,239	150,602
Eliminations [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities	0	0
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchases of property and equipment	0	0
Acquired cash in Digiplex acquisition	0
Theatre acquisitions	0	0
Investment in unconsolidated affiliates	0
Proceeds from sale of property and equipment	0	0
Intercompany receivable/payable	11,485
Intercompany receivable		(358)
Other investing activities	0	0
Net cash used in investing activities	11,485	(358)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Short-term borrowings	0
Repayments of short term borrowings	0
Issuance of long-term debt	0
Repayments of long-term debt	0
Debt issuance costs	0
Repayments of capital leases and long-term financing obligations	0	0
Issuance of common stock	0
Purchase of treasury stock	0	0
Intercompany receivable/payable	(11,485)
Intercompany payable		358
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities	(11,485)	358
Increase in cash and cash equivalents	0	0
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period	0	0
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	0	0
Carmike Cinemas, Inc. [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities	(8,041)	162
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchases of property and equipment	(3,740)	(4,449)
Acquired cash in Digiplex acquisition	0
Theatre acquisitions	(2,338)	(3,828)
Investment in unconsolidated affiliates	0
Proceeds from sale of property and equipment	1,367	6
Intercompany receivable/payable	(11,485)
Intercompany receivable		358
Other investing activities	(99)	231
Net cash used in investing activities	(16,295)	(7,682)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Short-term borrowings	0
Repayments of short term borrowings	0
Issuance of long-term debt	0
Repayments of long-term debt	0
Debt issuance costs	0
Repayments of capital leases and long-term financing obligations	(610)	(344)
Issuance of common stock	23	88,043
Proceeds from Sale of Stock Option	18
Purchase of treasury stock	(1,483)	(174)
Intercompany payable		0
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities	(2,052)	87,525
Increase in cash and cash equivalents	(26,388)	80,005
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period	99,153	49,093
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	72,765	129,098
Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities	26,593	33,187
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchases of property and equipment	(31,736)	(20,299)
Acquired cash in Digiplex acquisition	429
Theatre acquisitions	(14,237)	(8,490)
Investment in unconsolidated affiliates	(109)
Proceeds from sale of property and equipment	41	734
Intercompany receivable		0
Other investing activities	0	0
Net cash used in investing activities	(45,612)	(28,055)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Short-term borrowings	0
Repayments of short term borrowings	0
Issuance of long-term debt	0
Repayments of long-term debt	(9,099)
Debt issuance costs	0
Repayments of capital leases and long-term financing obligations	(4,607)	(2,708)
Issuance of common stock	0	0
Purchase of treasury stock	0	0
Intercompany receivable/payable	11,485
Intercompany payable		(358)
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities	(2,221)	(3,066)
Increase in cash and cash equivalents	(21,240)	2,066
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period	44,714	19,438
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	$ 23,474	$ 21,504