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Openings
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November 24, 2008
Shows go on at Loma
SOCORRO, NM — After announcing its closing last month, the Loma Theatre will reopen soon under new management.
There might be a Hollywood ending for the Loma Theater after all.
Complete with a hero riding in to save the day, it appears the local movie theater’s future has been secured and the grateful masses should soon make their appearance.
Incline Village, Nev., businessman Todd Bloomhuff— owner of Bloomhuff Entertainment Inc. and Bloomhuff Theaters — said he plans to reopen the city’s Loma Theater as the New Loma Stadium Cinema by the second week in December.
Read the full story at El Defensor Chieftain.
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November 21, 2008
A star fades in Reedsburg
REEDSBURG, WI — Despite news to the contrary, the Star Cinema will not reopen. Instead, it will be used as a storage facility for the time being.
Despite rumors that it would reopen, the Star 6 Cinema in downtown Reedsburg has officially been closed. City Building Inspector Art Biesek received a memo from Steve Carpenter, an employee of the business, breaking the news Thursday.
“I just got word today that the Star Cinema in Reedsburg will not be reopening,” the memo said. “The cost of the reopening can’t be justified in light of the theater’s attendance history.”
Read more in the Reedsburg Times Press.
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November 18, 2008
The 5 Points Theatre back in the movie business
RIVERSIDE, FL — After numerous incarnations, Florida’s first theatre to show a talkie is getting back to showing movies.
For all who cherish neighborhood bars, mom and pop restaurants and local boutiques, you now have another movie theater to add to your hometown commerce roster. The 5 Points Theatre in Riverside returned to its roots and reopened last month as a movie house that shows those zany “talkies” so popular with the kids. One screen, one concession stand, one heckuva display of baked goods.
It’s early in the game for the theater, so it is not a particularly grand experience walking into the lobby. Yes, it’s clean and fresh-looking, but it’s sparse, giving off the feel of a mid-range hotel banquet room.
Manager Peter Mosely, whose band used to rock the Club 5 stage, told me the lobby is a work in progress, and they’re working to find a local gallery to pretty up the walls. They also want to add some lounge seating so guests can sit and enjoy a drink before the show.
Read the full story in the Florida Times-Union.
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November 7, 2008
Cinemark opens fourth Utah multiplex
OREM, UT — Cinemark is opening Cinemark University Mall, a 14-screen, all digital theater this week. Five of the auditoriums have 3D capability, and this is the fourth theater Cinemark has opened in Utah.
Cinemark is hoping an economic downturn will help business since in five of the last seven recessions, movie attendance has boomed. During the last recession, in 2001, North American box office revenues rose nine percent.
The theater may also be used as part of the Sundance Film Festival. Cinemark has a contact to show festival films in Park City.
Read more in the Daily Herald.
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The Movies Return
KINGMAN, AZ — Kingman has been without a movie theater since the four screen “The Movies” shut down last year. While there are plans to build an 8 screen modern multiplex next year, the old theater is reopening with a fresh makeover next month.
It looks like Christmas will come early this year for Kingman’s movie buffs. The defunct movie theater at 4035 Stockton Hill Road, closed since late last year, is set to reopen under new management Dec. 12.
Abandoned by theater giant Cinemark the previous December, the aptly-named “The Movies” four-screen theater has received a new lease on life – literally – thanks to the efforts of a California theater owner and longtime cinema technician, Tom Daugherty.
Read the full story in the Kingman Daily Miner.
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Columbus Grandview to reopen in January
COLUMBUS, OH — After all the drama last month of the Drexel Grandview closing, then not closing, then finally closing when its landlord returned from vacation, a new operator has stepped forward with plans to reopen the theater in January.
A former manager of the Drexel North theater and his wife will spend about $50,000 of their savings to renovate the Grandview.
The couple intends to keep their day jobs for at least a year and then hope to manage the theater full time after that.
The previous operator wished them well.
Read more in the Columbus Dispatch.
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November 6, 2008
AMC opens Fork & Screen concept in KC
OLATHE, MO — AMC has reopened the east wing of its massive Studio 30 megaplex as the Fork & Screen, an upscale dinner/movie/bar concept.
Eleven auditoriums have been gutted and rebuilt, with three screens designated Cinema Suites and featuring extra amenities like padded reclining chairs and reserved seating. The number of seats in the suites are limited to 32 per auditorium and no one under 21 will be allowed.
A full-service kitchen has been installed and a sprawling bar called MacGuffins has been added. Food and drink are delivered to the seats by a staff that will eventually number 140.
Read the details at KansasCity.com.
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Upscale theater opens in Redmond
REDMOND, WA — Gold Class Cinema, formerly an old AMC theater, has been extensively remodeled into a luxury movie house with valet parking and a ticket price of $32, ($35 if you order online). It opened last Friday.
The theater features seven screening rooms with no more than 40 seats each, all widely spaced with shared tables between them. Upscale handheld food is served with crab cakes going for $17, a New York strip-steak sandwich going for $19, and a bottle of wine going for between $30 and $695.
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November 5, 2008
Former managers buy Ohio theater
COSHOCTON, OH — The couple who managed the Hollywood Studios Movie Theater at the Downtowner Plaza for eight years has now become its owners.
Jodi and Kim Lowe are renaming the three-screen multiplex Shelby Theaters after their daughter who passed away when she was only nine-days old.
The theater closed last August due to declining profits because of the economy and because of a new stadium-style multiplex 20 miles away in nearby Zanesville.
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October 31, 2008
Midway Mall Cinema to reopen
ELYRIA, OH — The Midway Mall Cinemas are reopening Friday under the Atlas Cinema banner.
The eight-screen theater has been dark for six months after the previous operator, the Talbot Theatre Group, failed to pay $50,000 in rent. Previously, it had been run by General Cinemas until its bankruptcy in 2000 when it closed.