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Theaters
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April 7, 2011
Cinemark adding theaters in Ft. Worth, TX and another near Pittsburgh, PA
PLANO, TX — Cinemark has announced plans to construct a new theater in extreme north Fort Worth and another in McCandless, PA about ten miles north of Pittsburgh. Both will be of the company’s NextGen design, and feature one of the company’s proprietary XD large format digital screens. The fourteen-screener in Forth Worth will be built at the northwest corner of Interstate 35W, U.S. 287 and North Tarrant Parkway in the Presidio Junction development. The Pennsylvania cinema will have twelve screens and will be built at the McCandless Crossing. When this latter theater opens, it may mean that the nearby Rave Showcase Cinemas North may close.
There are news stories about these developments in the Star Telegram and in the Post-Gazette.
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April 6, 2011
Bow Tie Cinemas acquires Reston Town Center 13
RESTON, VA — As of Friday, 4/1, Bow Tie Cinemas assumed operation of the Reston Town Center 13 Cinemas. Bow Tie will soon perform a phased reconstruction of the theater which will include all stadium seating, digital projection with 3D, bigger screens, all new concessions, all new amenities and decor, and brand new rest rooms.
The theater construction began in the late 80’s by Cineplex Odeon, who never finished it, so National Amusements stepped in and completed the 11-plex and opened it in 1990. Theaters 1 & 2 were ‘twinned’ creating 13 screens. In the reconstruction, Bow Tie will ‘de-twin’ the two theaters, turning the facility back to an 11 screen operation. For the past 16 months, Rave Motion Pictures operated the theater.
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April 5, 2011
Lake Theatre in Oak Park turns 75
OAK PARK, IL — The seventy-fifth anniversary of the opening of the Lake Theatre will be marked by a special ceremony, theater tours, and showings of classic films each month until the end of the year. Opened in 1936 in the art deco style, the theater was acquired in 1981 by Classic Cinemas, which converted the theater over time to seven screens while retaining some of the original design elements and using some salvaged remnants of other theaters in the Chicago area.
“The investment that they have made in the theater has been very important in demonstrating the strength of downtown Oak Park,” said Village President David Pope.
April 11 marks the 75th anniversary of the Lake Theatre’s opening. They plan to celebrate with a ceremonial tearing of an oversized movie ticket by Pope, along with a birthday cake and two 75-cent screenings of the first movie ever shown at the Lake — a British romantic comedy called “The Ghost Goes West”— at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.
There is more at OakPark.com.
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March 31, 2011
Hartford to get Luxury Cinema with Grill
HARTFORD, CT — This is the cinema I thought we were getting in West Hartford. I am looking foward to having another choice to see movies in the area.
Spotlight Theatres, which operates two venues in Georgia, said it plans a multiscreen venue at Front Street, across the street from the Connecticut Convention Center. The theaters will include stadium seating, high-back chairs, digital projection and an accompanying grill where patrons may order dinner.
Read more in the Hartford Courant.
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March 30, 2011
Lubbock to get a new megaplex in November
LUBBOCK, TX — A new sixteen-screen megaplex will open at the South Plains Mall to be operated by Premiere Cinemas of Big Spring in time for this year’s December blockbusters. The new cinema will have a digital IMAX screen and some D-BOX seats in addition to all-digital projection and stadium seating. Refreshment offerings will also include a Starbuck’s and two bars.
The owners say this new facility will bring nearly a hundred jobs to Lubbock, and they’re shooting for an opening date of November 3.
This huge venture will also provide considerable competition for Cinemark Theaters, which has been the only game in town for first-run movies for a number of years other than the Stars & Stripes Drive-in. It’s notable Premiere Cinema 16 will be going in just a couple miles away from Cinemark Movies 16 on Spur 327.
There is more at Fox 34 News.
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March 28, 2011
November opening projected for new theater in Rifle, Colorado
RIFLE, CO — Brendan Theaters will be making its first foray into Colorado when it opens a seven-screen multiplex in Rifle, currently planned for this coming November. Site work is underway at the location on West Second Street where a lumber yard once operated. Rifle is about fifty miles northeast of Grand Junction.
“The city wanted to make sure that the architecture is up to the standards of the city, and both parties are satisfied with it,” Sturgeon said.
The next step will be for the city to get a foundation pad prepared so that construction of the actual facility can begin.
The story appeared in the Post Independent.
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Mitchell Theatres acquires two Kansas theatres from B&B
WINFIELD, KS — Missouri-based B&B Theatres has agreed to sell two of its cinemas in Kansas to Mitchell Theatres. The two are the Cowley Cinema in Winfield and the Central Cinemas 6 in El Dorado. Mitchell plans to convert both of the theaters to all-digital projection and upgrade the sound systems in both of the theaters.
Sixteen of the new digital projectors will be capable of playing 3D movies.
In addition, Mitchell Theatres also plans to upgrade all of its auditoriums to 7.1 digital surround sound, the latest development in audio technology. New hearing impaired-assistance devices also are to be installed in all theaters.?
There is more in the Winfield Daily Courier.
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March 25, 2011
AMC may abandon struggling downtown megaplex in Minneapolis
MINNEAPOLIS, MN — AMC is considering whether it will continue to operate the AMC Block E 15 in downtown Minneapolis when its current lease on the theater expires next year. At present, due to low revenue, AMC is essentially paying no rent. Recently, a court ruled that though the current lease terms requires Block E’s owners to extend a renewal of the lease, it does not need to be extended under the same terms as the current one. The theater opened in 2002 under Crown management; AMC took over when it bought Kerasotes which had acquired the the theater from Crown. Block E has lost several major tenants over the last year.
Under its current lease, the theater’s rent is based on a percentage of annual gross sales: 15 percent above $3 million, 20 percent above $5 million, or 25 percent above $7 million. According to Camelot’s lawsuit, AMC currently “is not paying any rent” to occupy the 84,000-square-foot, stadium-seating movie theater, which seems to imply that the tenant’s revenue has been below $3 million.
The judge acknowledged that the contract contains ambiguous language but stated that, in their differing interpretations, Camelot presented the stronger argument. The ruling determined that the lease offers a renewal, but not an extension.
The story can be read here.
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March 24, 2011
Drexel Theatre acquired by not-for-profit group; will be managed by CAPA
BEXLEY, OH — The 1937 Drexel Theatre has beeen purchased by a not-for-profit organization, New Drexel, Inc. from Jeff Frank who has owned the theater for the past three decades. The triplex will now be managed by the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA), which also manages many of the city’s prime performing arts centers, including three former movie palaces, the Ohio, Palace, and Southern theaters. Frank shall remain as the theater’s manager and existing employees will be retained.
Friends of the Drexel, an organization formed in 2009 to help save the struggling business, owns the three-screen theater – known for its art-house and specialty programming – as of Tuesday.
As part of the deal, the Drexel is being managed by the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts – which handles the accounting, marketing, programming and development.
Read more in the Columbus Dispatch.
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Bloomfield 8 acquired by Digital Cinema Destinations
BLOOMFIELD, CT — The Bloomfield 8 theater, will be undergoing renovations under its new ownership.
Renovations to the theater’s eight auditoriums, which seat 1,500, will include new seating, carpeting, repainted interiors and a digital sound system. Staffing at the 22,800 square foot theater, located across from Bloomfield’s town hall at 863 Park Ave., will remain at 20 full and part-time workers.
Over the next few months, the theater’s eight 35-mm projectors will be converted to digital, allowing the theater to show 3-D movies such as “Avatar.” The conversion also will allow the theater to broadcast events in high definition, including live sports, concerts, motivational talks and corporate gatherings, allowing the theater to fill more seats during the Monday-Thursday off-peak period, Mayo said.
Read more in the Hartford Courant.