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AMC opens Fork & Screen concept in KC
posted by
danpetitpas
on
November 6, 2008 at 7:57 am
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.
Comments (8)
This have to do with Gold Class Cinemas coming in.
A McGuffin was a plot point that Hitchcock used to throw you off so you wouldn’t figure out the mystery.
Amc has one of the best concepts with there fork and spoon!
While this sort of thing apears to be a growing trend in the industry, be it partial usage of venues or entire theatres dedicated to the concept, I suspect AMC is simply trying to find a better way to utilize their “overbuilt” megaplexes. In today’s market, 30 plexes, many of the 20 plexes for that matter, aren’t cost effective and are often far more than needed in any given area. Rather than “mothballing” excess auditoriums, this idea provides them with a potential use (I know there has also been talk of turning some auditoriums in to party/meeting rental spaces).
I agree with you CTCrouch, but also in todays world, with rising energy costs, etc, something they could also do is the opposite of what happened in the 70’s and 80’s. Instead of “adding” on, they could “subtract”. Simply demolish a wing of the building and eliminate theatres. If they are in a situation where theatres are on multiple floors, convert one floor to office space, rent it out, and get some guarenteed income. Sometimes they have to think outside the box.
There is an error in the article: Olathe is in Kansas, not in Missouri but very close to the Missouri-Kansas border.
I think that the dinner and a movie concept is a very good one. Many customers love the high class ambience. Regular multiplexes suffer from crowds of loud teenagers and dirty auditoriums. This new concept gets rid of the distractions and offers a luxurious and comfortable place to view movies. A big reason why people have avoided movie theaters is due to issues with rowdy people. More people are going to go back to seeing movies in the theater. This theater will see much more business coming in.
Video of the theater. It looks really nice inside.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKMdOubY8Tc
They should do that to the AMC in my town, to go along with the upcoming IMAX screen in 1Q 09.