AMC Kabuki 8
1881 Post Street,
San Francisco,
CA
94115
1881 Post Street,
San Francisco,
CA
94115
11 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 35 of 35 comments
The Kabuki was also an excellent concert venue. I saw many acts there during the 80s, including The Cure and Stevie Ray Vaughn. It was great because the stage was set so low.
In the early 70s my 1st grade teacher brought our class there to see Kabuki Noh dancers.
State OKs Kabuki sale to Sundance
The state attorney general’s office has approved the purchase of San Francisco’s AMC Kabuki multiplex by Sundance Cinemas.
The aspiring independent movie theater chain affiliated with Robert Redford plans to renovate the eight-screen theater to include stadium-style seating. It will be renamed Sundance Kabuki.
Sundance has agreed to operate the Kabuki as a first-run movie theater until 2011. The attorney general’s office required AMC to divest the Kabuki as well as its 14-screen theater at 1000 Van Ness Ave. in order to complete its merger with Loews.
The Sundance schedule will include independent and foreign language films as well as documentaries and classics. Renovation is scheduled to begin this month. An early fall reopening is planned.
— Pia Sarkar
It is still open, however in the SF Chronicle listings it is no longer listed as an AMC theater, but just as the Kabuki
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It will reopen in late summer or fall.
Not only will this remain open but will become a Sundance Cinema. Whats odd about this move is Sundance Cinemas was one of many things to lead to the bankruptsy of General Cinema as Redford refused to remodel existing GC locations in upscale locations. It also didn’t help that Redford wanted to spend 2 million dollars per-screen on such weird ideas as natural fiber seats and retractable roofs (this was planned for Portland, OR). GC was later bought by AMC. Redford has aquired what I susspect is a well run and popular house and plans to retrofit at least 5 screens with stadium seating and add two bars in the complex. It will undoubtably be trendy and I can’t wait to see it. It will soon be known as the Sundance Kabuki 8.
The main auditorium seats over 700 people on two levels. The theatre has a stage, japanese art deco with hanging red lanterns, and a great balcony. The bottom seats over 400 and the balcony seats over 300. I recently went here while on a trip and was pleased with the AMC Kabuki 8. I cant say anything about theatres 2-8 because i was lucky enough to see a movie in theatre 1. I loved the atrium like lobby that has great views of the city from the top level. I hope this building remains a theatre. This theatre has the cheapest parking at $2.75 w/validation. I mention this because I also went to the AMC Van Ness 14 ($6.00) and the AMC Metreon 15 ($7.00). Going to a movie is expensive enough and its like your buying a movie ticket for your car too.
The Kabuki is close to where I live and I like that convenience. If a film plays the main auditorium with it’s amazing balcony, by all means GO! That place is amazing. I also love the smaller, more intimate theaters downstairs by the box office. I try to see movies there as often as I can because it’s like being in a private screening room. The other theaters in between…I never liked them. Heads get in the way, they’re small and when people walk up and down the aisle looking for a seat after the movie started, they block the screen.
They should knock those out and make the place just two huge auditoriums and the screening rooms downstairs and the place would be cool. This city doesn’t need a multiplex of 10 screens that play the same 4 films in rotation!
The Kabuki 8 was San Francisco’s first multiplex. The Kabuki Theatre was orginally built for roadshow type Kabuki presentations. There just wasn’t enough Kabuki companies to keep the theatre going full tilt and since the whole idea was to enhance Japantown businesses the theatre was rented out for plays, music concerts and revues. Local producer Sebastian presented Divine in a big flop here called “The Heartbreak of Psoriasis” in the mid 70’s, by then the rows of seats had been replaced with tables and chairs so food and drinks could be sold with the shows. AMC put back the traditional seating and built the other 7 theatres on the Fillmore St side of the theatre. The main theatre (AMC called it “the Big House”) has a gigantic screen and was the first SF theatre to install a THX sound system.
The first movie to show here was John Waters' HAIRSPRAY
The Kabuki is nestled right in the heart of “Japantown” in San Francisco. I have been here a couple of times. The upstair cinemas is sorta like mini versions of the AMC 1000 decor on Van Ness. The real deal of the Kabuki is the MAIN auditorium downstairs. The decor is very neat because I saw Crouching TIger Hidden Dragon there. :D BUT the downside is don’t be caught behind the pillars in ANY of the cinemas on the first floor.