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Closings
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August 5, 2010
Lakeland Square 10 closed
LAKELAND, FL — Dickinson Theatres closed the Lakeland Square 10 on July 29. Although the caption under the picture accompanying a recent article reads “for good,” the information in the article announcing the closing indicates that theater has been sold and may reopen under new management.
“The theater’s not maintained,” Yocum said. “We have lights out in the auditoriums, holes in the ceiling, light water damage, things like that.”
He said two of auditoriums are currently out of service because of maintenance issues, including lack of sound in one auditorium.
The full article can be read at The Ledger.com.
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August 2, 2010
Marshall Cinema closing
MARSHALL, MO — The Marshall Cinema 3 will soon be closed by its current owner, B&B Theatres. According to this article about the imminent closing, the theater building is over a century old.
“They are moving toward larger communities and larger theaters,” he said.
Nationally theaters have been undergoing the slow, expensive process of upgrading from traditional projectors to digital projectors.
The upgrade to digital costs about $70,000 and the 3-D add-on can run another $30,000. Vermillion said there is an industry consortium that helps small theaters make the transition.
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July 27, 2010
Spencer 3 closing in August
SPENCER, IA — Fridley Theatres will soon be closing the Spencer 3 which opened as the New Spencer in 1941 and became a triplex in 1979. Jeri Lagenfeld, who started working for Fridley in 1978 as a summer employee at one of their drive-ins and who has managed the Spencer 3 since 2004, shares her thoughts in this article from the Spencer Daily Reporter.
Originally, the theater utilized reel-to-reel projecting.
“The projectionist had to flip from one projector to the next and had just a matter of seconds to flip-flop and the movie continued onto the second reel,” Langenfeld explained.
Because the projectionist had to change and manually rewind reels every 15 to 20 minutes, he or she stayed in the booth for the entirety of each film.
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July 21, 2010
Krikorian abruptly closes Dos Lagos 15
CORONA, CA — Krikorian Theaters abruptly closed the Dos Lagos 15. The theater opened December 15, 2006. An extremely short-lived theater.
Kerri La Torre, associate general manager of Taps Fish House & Brewery, across the parking lot from the Krikorian, said the news was a shock for them, too. “They’ve been jam-packed all week,” she said.
La Torre said she didn’t hear anything about the closing until she showed up for work Monday. Even then, “I thought maybe they were just cleaning.”
It isn’t the first business to close in Dos Lagos. A Starbucks shut down months ago, a Coach store is gone, and so is an ice cream shop.
Read the full story in thePress-Enterprise.
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Current Regal Salmon Run Mall theater closing; to be replaced by new theater
WATERTOWN, NY — Regal has announced that its Salmon Run Mall 8 theater will be closing on July 29 and then be demolished. New construction will begin on the Regal Cinemas Salmon Run Stadium 12, which is expected to open in the spring of 2011.
The new Regal Cinemas Salmon Run Stadium 12 will encompass approximately 51,000 square feet with more than 2,100 seats in a total of 12 auditoriums. Visit www.REGmovies.com/grand-openings for updated information about the new theatre.
Regal Salmon Run Mall Stadium 12 will feature these amenities:
— Digital projection in every auditorium to provide a crystal-clear picture.
— RealD 3D projection systems available for 3D enhanced presentations.
— Digital surround sound completes the true digital cinema experience.
— Stadium seating in every auditorium for an unobstructed view of the screen.
The full story is in Market Watch.
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July 15, 2010
Regency Theaters to operate recently-closed Bakersfield cinema as discount house
BAKERSFIELD, CA — The Regal UA East Hills Mall 10 Theater which closed on June 27 will soon be operated by Regency Theaters as a discount operation; July 30 has been set as a target for the re-opening. Two screens will be primarily devoted to showing foreign and independent films.
Regency Theatre is a discount movie theater with $2 admission prices and $1 hot dogs. “They’re more discount oriented. Similar to the dollar theater on California Avenue,” said Lynch. With its policy of discounts, Regency Theatre vice president Andrew Golin said East Hills Mall was the perfect fit. “The opportunity came available, and we jumped on it. That market could definitely use that theater with that policy in this economy. It’s become a popular policy within our company,” said Golin. “We’re going to have a value oriented family driven theater where people can see discount movies, buy food for kids, take the whole group out and not break the bank,” said Lynch.
It’s a different type of attraction for a mall many people think is going out of business. Especially since all the major anchor stores have left and the movie theater was the last major attraction. “People have been talking about the nail in the coffin at East Hills Mall for a while. East Hills is not going out of business. Which is evidenced by the fact that the moment one theater moves out, Regency couldn’t wait to get here and they’re excited,” said Lynch. “We’re excited about it. I think the community will really like it,” said Golin. “Wow! It’s exciting to see this mall turning around again! We lost a lot of customers with the news of the old theater leaving, but a new one coming in will bring more people in,” said mall shop owner Andy Carrillo. “I’m feeling optimistic. The theater can only improve traffic here at the mall so I can’t wait to see what it brings,” said mall shop owner Danny Villa.
The full story is at KERO.com and there’s more atBakersfield.com.
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July 14, 2010
Ciné-Parc De La Colline in Saint-Nicolas may close for an condo project
SAINT NICOLAS, QUEBEC, CANADA — This would be the last drive-in in the Quebec City area. It opened on July 23rd, 1970.
The full article is in Le Journal du Quebec.
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July 13, 2010
Carmike abruptly closes University Cinemas in Normal
NORMAL, IL — The University Cinemas were closed suddenly by Carmike on June 30. Although the city approved plans to build apartments on the site months ago, films had been booked through the Independence Day weekend. The theater was the area’s first multi-screen theater, opening in 1971 as a twin; over time, an additional six screens were added.
She said that the office was notified Tuesday by Carmike’s Atlanta, Ga.-based corporate headquarters that the theater would close the next day. Less than 24 hours earlier, the office had supplied The Pantagraph’s GO! entertainment section with bookings targeted for a traditional Friday opening.
By Thursday, Kreiser was in the theater helping oversee the closure with the theater’s staff.
There is more in the Pantagraph.
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July 1, 2010
Rave closing Maumee 18 earlier than expected
MAUMEE, OH — Rave Motion Pictures will be closing the Maumee 18 earlier than previously announced; it will now be shuttered as of July 11. The theater was one of the group of former National Amusements theaters that Rave acquired last year. It was formerly known as the Cinema de Lux Maumee 18.
Beginning July 2, Rave will drop prices by 50 cents on adult, child, and matinee tickets. Discount combos are in place as well, including free refills on large-sized drinks and popcorn.
The Maumee 18 is Rave’s largest theater in the area. It has 4,600 seats, 33.5 acres, and 74 employees. The Maumee 18’s closing leaves three Rave theater locations in the area: Levis Commons, Fallen Timbers, and Westfield Franklin Park.
There is more in the Toldeo Blade.
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June 15, 2010
AMC Magic Johnson in LA to close, be renovated; will reopen under new operator
BALDWIN HILLS, CA — Extensive renovations and upgrades will be made to the theater currently operating as the AMC Magic Johnson at the Crenshaw Plaza.
The full press releases are here and here.
Starting Monday, the movie theaters at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza are getting an extreme makeover. The mall’s owner, Capri Urban Investors, LLC (“Capri”), a commingled fund of institutional investors, will transform the current theaters into a modern, state-of-the-art multiplex featuring stadium seating, new amenities, digital technology, 3-D screens and new decor throughout. The theater upgrade also calls for a new operator, which Capri plans to announce later this month.
“We are thrilled to be bringing in a new theater operator at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza,” said Ken Lombard, Partner and President of Capri Urban Investors, LLC. “We are currently finalizing a new contract with an operator that truly understands Los Angeles, the urban marketplace, and has an absolute commitment to delivering the best movie experience you’ll find anywhere. Transforming the mall is about giving shoppers more choices and better amenities, and having a new state-of-the-art multiplex is an important step in that direction.”