Have a news tip for us?
Just email . Ideas for stories, links to interesting articles, and press releases are welcome.
The latest movie theater news and updates
-
December 26, 2012
Regal closes River Oaks 8
DECATUR, AL — The River Oaks 8 closed last weekend after a run of 20+ years. The Carmike 8 is also scheduled to close within the next few months as both make way for a new theater opening in the mall.
Read the full story in Decatur Daily.
0 comments -
AMC withdraws bid for new downtown Santa Monica theater; may still close Criterion 6
SANTA MONICA, CA — AMC bowed out of being involved with a new theatre in downtown Santa Monica. The city plans to pursue other developers who want to build downtown’s first modern cinema. Regardless, AMC may still close the Criterion 6.
Read more in the Santa Monica Mirror.
-
December 24, 2012
Former Schuylkill Mall 4 transformed into upscale Pearl Stadium 8
FRACKVILLE, PA — The former Schuylkill Mall 4 has been spruced up into the Pearl Stadium 8. A VIP Auditorium with leather seats and 3 3-D screens are the highlights of the new posh recreation.
Read more in the Republican Herald.
-
Real West II Theater to close Jan. 13
SILVER CITY, NM — Real West Cinema II is closing its doors next month due to operational costs. The owner estimated it would take $150,000 per screen to upgrade the projectors and seats.
Read more in the Silver City Sun-News.
-
Encore’s Upper Canada Place triplex closes; cost of converting to digital proved too much
BURLINGTON, CANADA — Encore Upper Canada Place closed on December 13 after over 25 years in the business because it couldn’t afford digital projectors. This leaves downtown with no operating theater.
Read more in The Spec.
-
December 21, 2012
New Book About New Orleans' Lost Movie Theaters Now On Sale
If you live in New Orleans and love movies (and movie theaters), you’ll definitely know the name Rene Brunet who – at 91 years old – is still running the city’s incomparable Prytania Theater. Over the past few years, the charismatic Brunet has also been working with urbanologist Jack Stewart and New Orleans publisher Arthur Hardy to produce a lavish 160-page book chronicling the appearance and disappearance of over 100 theaters in Metro New Orleans.
“New Orleans is a city of neighborhoods,” the book’s website notes. “And once upon a time, each of those neighborhoods included one or more movie theaters. Since 1896 when the nation’s first movie house, VitaScope Hall, opened on Canal Street, nearly 200 neighborhood theaters have come and gone. These entertainment venues were more than places where motion pictures were projected onto giant screens. They were community centers where people gathered and where memories were made. There’s One In Your Neighborhood—The Lost Movie Theaters of New Orleans presents the history of more than 100 neighborhood theaters that will be familiar to Baby Boomer and younger generations.”
The book is listed for $25.95 and can be ordered now via Paypal through the Prytania Theater website.
Purchase “There’s One In Your Neighborhood” via PayPal
Read the first few pages of “There’s One In Your Neighborhood” (Adobe Acrobat required)
-
Award-winning photographer unearths Baltimore’s movie theater past using camera and interviews
BALTIMORE, MD — Amy Davis has spent five years documenting the theaters of Baltimore and is now planning a book. She aims to capture the relationship of the city and its theaters seen through the eyes of such famous residents as John Waters and Barry Levinson.
Read more at Baltimore Brew.
(Thanks to William for providing the photo.)
-
Cinema West opens new deluxe twelve-screen theater in Hesperia
HESPERIA, CA — Cinema West opened its first theatre in Southern California last week with the Civic Plaza 12. The new cinema features reserved seating, D-Box seating and two theaters with 60-foot screens.
Read more in the High Desert Daily Press.
-
December 20, 2012
Picture Houses Photography Project
WEST MIDLANDS, ENGLAND — Photographer John Fallon has a wonderful website featuring his pictures of cinemas across England. He pays particular attention to the various forms of adaptive reuse for these buildings.
See some of his Picture House work at JohnFallon.org.
-
Wilton Town Hall Theater turns 100; preserves touches of real showmanship
WILTON, NH — The Wilton Town Hall just passed its 100th Anniversary and it’s still leaving its mark on the moviegoers of the area. While they make most of their money off of new releases, they take pride in their free classic film series. Even if they have to purchase a digital projector, they still plan on showing 35mm prints as much as possible.
Read more about celebrating this neighborhood gem in the Ledger Transcript.