Edwards Big Newport
300 Newport Center Drive,
Newport Beach,
CA
92660
300 Newport Center Drive,
Newport Beach,
CA
92660
26 people
favorited this theater
Opened in 1969, with 1,130 seats and a 71-foot screen, this was among the last of the large theaters built in Southern California before the advent of the multi-screen shoeboxes in the early 1970’s. It was the fourth theater built by the growing Edwards chain and for many years it was considered their flagship.
In the 1970’s and 1980’s, two smaller screens were added on either side of its building, keeping the original auditorium intact.
Edwards' corporate offices were in the second story of one of the newer theaters and anyone who attended a matinee would probably see James Edwards II, the chain’s founder, greeting patrons. He came to work daily until his death at the age of 90.
In 1996, three stadium auditoriums were added to the building but the Big Newport, with its non-stadium seating, has defied trends and still continues to draw crowds. The Big Newport has a loyal following of fans who camp out or at least show up for the first day of the big movies. (Their unofficial web site is www.bignewport.com).
Edwards Newport Cinemas is now part of Regal Entertainment Group.
Contributed by
Ron Pierce
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Recent comments (view all 43 comments)
Mr. Ruhle has obviously slid to our universe….from a parallel where the Edwards VP was a Member of IATSE Local 504 (Orange County CA) He was never a member of our Local. I have been a member of Local 504 since 1978. Furthermore they way you have worded your blog I do not beleive that you were a member of IATSE. You certainly were not a professional projectionist and it seems that your being fired was appropriate. Had you been a member of the IA I would have filed charges against you for violating our jurisdiction and for conduct unbecoming a member.
Well alrighty then.
Wanted to see Unstoppable today so I called the theater to ensure it was in the big house. I asked if they had switched to Digital projectors and that this was the first week. They are using Sony 4K in all auditoriums except for the Big Newport auditorium, where they are using a Barco projector (I think Cinemark’s XD uses the same). I was told the screen was replaced with a silver one that was the exact same size. So I headed out to check it out.
The preshow was annoying, but after wards the curtains actually closed! Lights came down and they opened up and there was a slide on the screen that said Edwards Big Newport that stayed on till the curtains were opened and the masking went wide. It was a great presentation. The show as awesome. I have been here a few times and was never that impressed with the picture, it always seemed dark. That issue is gone. The image quality was great, now I have never seen a 70mm film here so I cant compare it to that. Compared to the 35mm films I have seen here, this was far more impressive.
The sound was something else. It was so loud, but clear and clean. The bass made your shirt move and the surround was quite noticeable. This was by far the best show I have seen at this fantastic theater. There were about 40 people maybe in that large house for the 10:20 show on opening weekend Saturday night.
Don’t waste your money at:
Edwards Big Newport 6
300 Newport Center Drive
Newport Beach, CA 92808
(949) 640-4600
What a joke your Big Newport Theater is!!
My husband and I took the afternoon off work to see the 1:45 pm showing of “Adjustment Bureau”. We arrived early to the show, viewed the adverts prior to the feature and during the previews for the other films realized the audio was all wrong. Basically, there spoken track was muted to a whisper and the background track was cranked to full. I and several other patrons repeatedly approached the staff to ask that the audio be corrected. After several attempts with no fix the movie started and although we approached the projectionist and the other personnel on site all we were told is to get our money back. There was absolutely no sense that they cared one bit about the failure to project the movie with proper audio. They just let it run on and on and on. This is not the first time this has happened to us at this theater. They do not seem to have qualified people on staff, or they just care very little for their patrons. Is there not a quality control check of the films screened before they are shown to the public? Why did the technician not monitor and realize the problems early with the previews BEFORE the film started. What kind of service is this if they cannot do the one thing — show a film — they are paid dearly to do. The on-site manager was of no help either and had no sense of lost pride regarding their failure to provide us with the service we paid for.
We and all the other patrons (I’d estimate 20) received refunds, but I guarantee I will never visit this cinema again and I will avoid as much as possible the Regal Chain. Terrible attitudes regarding quality work. Just pathetic!
Just as your car can be maintained 100% and cared for all the time, you probably don’t change your tail light before it burns out.
Many theatres preview their films and they may run fine for dozens of shows, but then that ONE show something goes wacky. Sounds in this case that an amplifier may have gone bad and at that point there is probably nothing that can be done until a replacement is found.
As for why the staff didn’t catch the problem, I may agree with you there. A good projectionist (especially at a six-plex) will make rounds and check the sound from both up in the projection booth and in the auditorium.
But also — you realize this isn’t Regal’s website — so they’ll never see this.
funny when I managed theatres in the 70’s and 80’s we had trained UNION operators that were not scoring with Debbie in the candy room.
When I was in So Cal, took the time and saw a movie in this awesome theater, Ok Arthur was an OK
movie it was watchable, But the theater is One of a Kind, Big Screen Big Sound, Big Fun !
My only concern is maintenance, Its time for drapery, seat and carpet replacements, the theater is in a
super nice area of Southern California lets make sure this theater stays around for a long time
If presentation is important to you, there really is no better place to see a movie in OC than the 1100-seat Big Newport. It is the county’s version of the Cinerama Dome and Chinese theatre in L.A. Nothing else comes close for my money.
I’ve seen some great shows there over 30-plus years – The Black Stallion, The Empire Strikes Back, The Right Stuff, Last Crusade, Batman (will always remember that as James Edwards Sr. told me to remove my feet from the seat in front of me at a midnight screening) and SW Episode 1 on opening night to name a few.
A smile never fails to form on my face just sitting there waiting for the show to start. It’s like visiting an old friend eveytime I enter the autotorium.
If you have had a bad experience there, I assure you it’s a rarity and urge you to give it another try.
I agree with you, Flix 70. Edwards Big Newport is a portal to movie magic. There’s something really special about that auditorium. There’s no better theater to see a movie on opening night… so many classics over the years… so many great audiences.
Caught War Horse on the big screen the day after Christmas. While it took a while for a couple of the house lights to go out, it was overall a very enjoyable presentation.