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Openings
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May 7, 2010
Santa Barbara Drive-In reopens tonight
GOLETA, CA — After nearly 20 years dark, tonight the Santa Barbara Drive-In will be opening its remaining screen to show “Iron Man 2” with showtimes at 8:00pm and 10:25pm. Come early for the 8pm show as it will definitely be crowded, gates will open between 6-6:30pm depending on lines. Various films to show throughout the summer season.
General Admission is $6.75 and children 5-11 are only $1. CASH ONLY.
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May 5, 2010
Former Red Bridge Theater in Kansas City, MO gets makeover, new name
KANSAS CITY, MO — The former Red Bridge Theater has been acquired by the Fine Arts Group of Kansas City, KS, which currently operates three theaters in Overland Park. The Red Bridge opened in 1999 and closed in 2008. The new owners are re-christening it the Glenwood@Red Bridge, because the owners of the shopping center in which the Fine Arts Group’s current Glenwood Arts Theater is located want to demolish the center and rebuild. The Glenwood@Red Bridge is reopening in phases, beginning April 30.
It has been a year since Mossman and his partners took over the four-plex at Holmes and Red Bridge roads. The facility opened in 1980 and closed in the summer of 2008. Over the years, the Red Bridge had several operators as both a first-run theater and a discount house.
The new Red Bridge theater still has four auditoriums, but each has fewer seats: 246, 230, 160 and 109. Mossman said his crews removed nearly 400 seats to provide more legroom.
The full story is in the Kansas City Star.
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May 3, 2010
Portland’s Living Room Theaters plans Florida sequel
BOCA RATON, FL — Another theatre in the popular Living Room Theaters chain will open this fall. They set themselves apart from the competition by providing a cafe and all digital screens.
The theater, part of a $19 million complex that also features classrooms and offices, would be used by film students during the day, then become a venue for the kind of independent and foreign films Living Room specializes in on nights and weekends. But, unlike at its Portland sibling, no alcohol will be served.
“The university is hoping to build up cultural life on campus, and it creates a captive audience for us,” Rimoch said. “It’s a win-win situation.”
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April 30, 2010
$2 million transforms former Harkins Theater at Paradise Valley Mall in AZ
PHOENIX, AZ — Picture Show Entertainment of Frisco, TX is transforming the space at the Paradise Valley Mall formerly occupied by a ten-screen Harkins Theater. The new $2 million dollar theater will be known as the Picture Show at Paradise Valley and will be open in time for Memorial Day, featuring seven auditoriums, all-digital projection, and 3D capability.
Frisco, Texas-based Picture Show Entertainment said the theater’s nearly $2 million renovation will set it apart from neighboring theaters.
“There are other theaters in the marketplace that have digital capabilities, but this will be an all-digital theater,” said Jeff Stedman, president of The Picture Show. “Some (competitors) are moving in that direction certainly, but there are not a lot of theaters that are already all-digital.”
The full story is in theArizona Republic.
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April 5, 2010
Southington Drive-In may return
SOUTHINGTON, CT — The Southington Drive-In Theatre which was closed and bought by the town in 2002 may see a second life. A group of local residents want to reopen it despite the concession stand, ticket booths, and original screen having been demolished. They would show movies on the newer screen that was added in 1979.
Work has progressed slowly. Besides the demolition, the parking area has been graded flat and the poles and window speakers are gone. Redevelopment was mostly put on the back burner until 2007, when the town council told the board of parks commissioners to draft a plan. It was at that point that people started thinking about showing movies again, Riccio said.
“We can provide people with low-cost entertainment and maintain a bit of the town’s past,” said Joseph Laporte, a park commissioner.
Read more in the Courant.
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Kansas City’s former Majestic Theater becomes Studio Movie Grill; another due for Atlanta
KANSAS CITY, MO — Located in the Zona Rosa lifesyle center, the former Majestic Theater triplex re-opened on April 1 as the latest operation of the Studio Movie Grill chain based in Dallas. Previously, the theater housed three auditoriums and a comedy club. The number of screens is now eight, all digital, with four 3D capable. Another Studio Movie Grill will open in May in Atlanta.
It’s a movie house geared mostly to grown-ups. No noisy arcade games. No visual busyness — not even movie posters cluttering up the navy blue walls.
“We’re not like other theaters,” said Tearlach Hutcheson, marketing director for the Dallas-based chain, during a recent walk-through. The theater, at 7430 N.W. 87th, is the former home of the Improv comedy club (relocated a block east), the Majestic Theatre and Ted’s Montana Grill.
The full story is at Kansas City.com.
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March 29, 2010
Great Escape Theatres to open new megaplex in South Carolina
SIMPSONVILLE, SC — Boasting fourteen screens, including an IMAX auditorium, the Great Escape 14 is scheduled to open at the end of April. The complex cost $14 million to construct and contains 2,200 seats.
When the Great Escape 14 movie theater opens in late April in Simpsonville, it plans to take full advantage of the latest technology changes. That’s why the fully digital theater will have four screens specially fitted to show movies in 3-D.
That’s not counting the four-story screen in the first and only digital IMAX theater in the Upstate.
“More and more movies are in 3-D and now they’re backing up on top of one another,” said David Poland, vice president of operations with Aliance Entertainment, the Indiana-based theater development company that built the $14 million, 14-screen theater in Simpsonville.
There is more detail in the Greenville News.
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March 24, 2010
CineMajestic will reopen La Porte, IN Cinemas
LA PORTE, IN — The four-screen La Porte Cinemas will be rechristened the New La Porte Cinemas when they reopen under CineMajestic management on April 1. New seats and new screens are being installed. The theater closed in October of 2009 and was last operated by Kerasotes.
“We need to get her open,” he said, noting that he wants to open the theater in time for local students to see films on their spring break. He said he also wants the theater to be open in time for the release of “Clash of the Titans,” featuring Sam Worthington, Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson and opening nationwide April 2.
CineMajestic is undergoing renovations that in the end will total more than $100,000. The aisle widths have been doubled from two feet to four feet, Caudle said, and the seat count for each screen has been decreased to 200. The management is currently giving away 1,000 seats which they removed, Caudle said.
There is more in the Herald Argus.
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March 23, 2010
New screens for Conway, AR and Wagner, SD
CONWAY, AR — Carmike Theaters plans to open a new twelve-screen multiplex in the fall as a replacement for the Carmike Cinema 6. That theater closed in February. The new multiplex will have one of the company’s Xtreme Digital screens. There are additional details here.
Meanwhile, in the small town of Wagner, SD, a new independent cinema seating 150 will open in July in a converted retail store. Here’s the story from the Announcer Online.
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March 22, 2010
Himalaya Palace Cinema (Closed Down) 2010
SOUTHHALL, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND — The Himalaya Palace Cinema is up for sale. The front of this great cinema is all boarded up and a for sale sign is in place!