Theater building cost?

Dale, I honestly don't think anyone can answer that for you. As a longshot, one would have to be in the area you're considering, first and then, it would also depend on how hungery your contractors are. And that's but one example. I can assure you, it will cost you seven to ten times as much in California as compared to most other parts of the country. Just way too much buerocracy their with overkill on the codes and regs. I think your best bet is to find a local architect to have a sitdown with and discuss your options. In other words, you have a lot of homework ahead of you.

Are you looking to build a drywall box with a screen and seats or a Movie Palace?

Check out the forums at www.bigscreenbiz.com

Word of advice: don't build a single screen. You can't make it in the business with a single screen nowadays. That is why all modern cinemas are multiplexes. If you are building new I'd think you'd want a minimum of five screens. If you have your heart set on a single screen it would be better to find one that already exists and fix it up.

"overkill on the codes and regs."

Yeah, who cares if the building collapses during an earthquake?!

Only someone with a great deal of money to lose would even consider building a single-screen theatre. And if that's the case, it doesn't matter what it costs.

I believe the last person who built a single screen died years ago and took this information to the grave. You should consider reopening an old closed down neighborhood theatre then give it a try.

I would like to build a 25,000 sq ft theater (6 screens) and i can never get a clear number on that as well....Even a ball park a range ......something to start with.............

Here's an article and a chart of building costs in various cities around the US. For example, in Boston, it would cost $162 per square foot. The least expensive is Winston-Salem at $110 per square foot. So in Winston-Salem it would cost you $2.75 million to build the building in addition to equipment costs.

Thanks for those charts

I am an Chinese, i have no idea about the building cost. But i can recommend you our seating, which can be half of American Made Seating price. About the quality, It is equal, one famous brand US seat company now OEM in our factory, so maybe the seat you bought from US is just produced in our workshop.

We need build up our own sales network, if anyone interested to join us, Welcome!

I am an Chinese, i have no idea about the building cost. But i can recommend you our seating, which can be half of American Made Seating price. About the quality, It is equal, one famous brand US seat company now OEM in our factory, so maybe the seat you bought in your local distributor was just produced in our factory.

We need build up our own sales network, if anyone interested to join us, Welcome!

I am an Chinese, i have no idea about the building cost. But i can recommend you our seating, which can be half of American Made Seating price. About the quality, It is equal, one famous brand US seat company now OEM in our factory, so maybe the seat you bought in your local distributor was just produced in our factory.

We need build up our own sales network, if anyone interested to join us, Welcome!

do you want info on building an single indoor or a drive in?

In case you’re not ready to sit down with an architect just yet, there is a book used by those in the construction industry to estimate costs of construction projects, "RSMeans Square Foot Costs." Your local library may have a copy of this book in their Reference Section. There is a section in the book dedicated to the construction of movie theaters. Whether you build a single screen or multiple screen theater, it's all based on square footage. There are tables near the back of the book to make adjustments to square foot costs for specific geographic locations. It makes a big difference in the cost as to where you build. It is customary to add a 10% contingency to the total projected cost, for unknowns. It is somewhat rare for a job to be completed on budget, solely based on raw data. The contingency helps to bring the projected cost closer to the actual cost. It seems the costs of materials are always going up. Good luck.