Regal Continental Stadium 10 & RPX

3635 S. Monaco Parkway,
Denver, CO 80237

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Commonwealth Theaters Corp., Regal Entertainment Group, United Artists Theater Circuit Inc.

Architects: Calvin Garrett

Previous Names: Commonwealth Continental Theatre, United Artists Continental 5, United Artists Continental 10

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News About This Theater

Continental Theater, Denver, CO November 1995

The Continental Theatre stands as Denver’s last remaining giant screen movie house. Along with the Cooper and Century 21 theatres, the (then) Commonwealth Continental Theatre was one of Denver’s premiere showcase theatres when it opened January 26, 1966 with Charlton Heston in “The Agony and the Ecstasy” and continued throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s, with a screen that measured 35'x 83'. Seating for the theatre was originally 916.

The theatre played host to dozens of large screen 70mm presentations over the decades including “Die Hard”, the original “Star Wars” trilogy, “The Abyss”, and “Terminator 2”. With the right booking, the Continental Theatre could be responsible for 35% of a film’s business in the city of Denver.

In 1983, during its run of “Return of the Jedi”, the theatre fell victim to a fire that destroyed part of it. The following day’s Rocky Mountain News contained a front page photo of theatre workers rushing the 70mm print of “Jedi” out of the theatre to safety. During the fire, all of the projector lenses (except the 70mm lens, which was in use) were destroyed. The new lenses for 35mm put to use after the fire were inadequate for the theatre’s long throw distance and, because of this, all 35mm presentations on the screen would require severe masking on all four sides to accommodate the smaller image size. The estimate is that 35mm reduced the screen size to 23'x 55'.

In 1994, for an exclusive engagement of “The Shawshank Redemption”, lenses from a recently closed drive-in were put to use at the Continental Theatre for the 35mm presentation and all films shown since 1994 have again utilized the full screen size.

In November 1995, the Continental Theatre closed for an extensive remodel/expansion. The theatre reopened on June 21, 1996 with five new screens (several THX approved) built around it. During this remodel, the seating was reduced to 869 to accommodate new handicap accessible seating. In 2008, the number of screens was increased to ten. It was closed on April 16, 2023.

Contributed by Cliff Stephenson

Recent comments (view all 66 comments)

Coate
Coate on July 6, 2017 at 10:27 am

Does anyone remember if Disney’s “Tron” played here in summer 1982 and/or during its autumn ‘82 re-release?

kennyjames
kennyjames on August 27, 2018 at 11:44 am

the continental originally opened 1/26/66 with the agony and the ecstasy. opening night was a benefit performance for the metro association for retarded children. regular performances began on 1/27/66. I am putting together a series of books on the history of the denver area’s drive-ins and indoor theatres (including a full booking history on the continental.) if anyone has any questions on the subject, please feel free to contact me at . I’ll be happy to share my research with you. Thanks ! Ken Mitchell

kucharsk
kucharsk on July 7, 2020 at 4:17 pm

I’ve always thought it ironic that the 70mm projectors installed at this complex were installed in one of the side theaters, not in the RPX house that once hosted 70mm screenings.

kennyjames
kennyjames on September 10, 2020 at 9:40 am

I’ve put together a booking history for the Continental, from 1966 up to 1978 so far, in case anyone might like to know when a particular movie played there. I’ll be happy to share my research with you. Take care – Ken Mitchell ()

MSC77
MSC77 on October 20, 2022 at 11:31 am

A chronology of Denver’s 70mm presentation history has recently been published. The Continental is mentioned numerous times.

TYoung
TYoung on April 14, 2023 at 3:47 pm

Sad to report this location has closed.

MontyM
MontyM on April 16, 2023 at 2:51 pm

Today is a sad day in Denver movie theater history. The last of the original big screen movie theaters has closed. Over the years I seen many movies at the Continental on the original D-150 screen in 70mm 6 track stereo, then later in 70 mm 6 track Dolby. I’m Hopeful another theater chain will reopen this Denver treasure. Maybe Harkins Theater chain.

rivest266
rivest266 on April 5, 2024 at 2:33 pm

Grand opening ad and an article claiming the world’s largest screen posted.

rivest266
rivest266 on April 8, 2024 at 10:46 pm

Six screens on June 21st, 1996 after being closed late in 1995.

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