Edwards Big Newport 6
300 Newport Center Drive,
Newport Beach,
CA
92660
300 Newport Center Drive,
Newport Beach,
CA
92660
34 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 50 of 101 comments
I see “Pixels” starts tomorrow in both 2D & 3D, but not on the RPX screen.
“Ant-Man” is not screening in 3D. They’ve actually offered 3D for many years on the big screen: “Tron Legacy” and “Gravity” are a couple I can remember seeing in the format. Usually they rotate 3D in every other screening. I found it odd they didn’t offer it for “Ant-Man.” Maybe they didn’t want to scare off patrons for the RPX launch my adding even more fees.
One question. From the listing I couldn’t tell if Antman was screening in 3D. Didn’t appear to be. I don’t think they ever offered 3D before in that auditorium because of the old screen. I would imagine they have the capability now with all the new specs. The Chinese Theater has the same projector and 3D looks amazing there. Just curious.
Thank you, Flix70! I’ve been so curious about this revamp. I’ll be visiting next weekend to see M:I Rogue Nation. I’ll try to snap some additional shots. Also, I should be receiving new vintage photos soon. Thanks for sharing!
Caught “Ant-Man” at the RPX theater today. $15.50 for a matinee before noon. Only one entrance to the big screen now, off to the right. The entrance on the left side is now an enclosed little passage, encompassing the women’s restroom and an employee backroom.
Once you enter the theater, you veer to the right and follow a short passageway around to the newly renovated auditorium. Center aisles are indeed gone, rows stretch from wall to wall now. The seats are of course the leather recliners with the sliding tray tables and all the aisles slope down from the top, each with its own step. Very dark inside. The red velvet curtains have been replaced with blue carpet-like walls. Two big RPX logos are visible on either side of the un-curtained screen.
The new screen seems taller but not as wide as the old. The laser-projected 1.85:1 image looked great on the screen, crystal clear and bursting with color(especially the red Marvel logo at the beginning). I’ll be curious to see how they handle 2.40:1.
Sound was great, Dolby 7.1, no mention of Atmos. They’ve amped up the bass, as my seat rattled throughout the flick.
Overall, a pretty enjoyable experience. I’d definitely return for “The Martian,” “SPECTRE” and “The Force Awakens.” It’s obviously not like it was, and while that is a bit sad, it’s just the way things go these days. At least we have our memories. Keep those old pictures coming, Richie_T.
I added some pictures to the gallery. Keep in mind it was pretty dark in there and I wasn’t using professional equipment. You really have to see it for yourself to appreciate it.
New seating capacities at this theater following the installation of Regal’s new “king-size” recliners (via Fandango’s reserved seating service):
Theater 1 (RPX) – 453 seats
Theater 2 – 179 seats
Theater 3 – 121 seats
Theater 4 – 127 seats
Theaters 5 & 6 – 116 seats
Thanks for the heads up Flix!
From their Facebook page. “ Enjoy fully reclining chairs, a bigger silver screen, all new speakers, state-of-the-art sound and laser projector. It will be the most premium movie experience anywhere!”
I had no idea they were installing Laser projection as well as increasing the screen size. I hope that is the case. There appears to be no mention of Dolby Atmos.
Big screen officially re-opens today as RPX theater. Per layout on Fandango, center aisles appear to be gone. 14 rows now and each stretch from wall to wall. Looks like a little less than 460 seats. More info to come.
I see Fandango is listing theaters 2 & 3 as now open (the ones on either side of the big screen).
Caught “Avengers: Age of Ultron” over the weekend at one of the newly remodeled stadium theaters(Auditorium # 4)and have to say I was very impressed.
Seats are reserved now(either at the box office or online) and your seat number is stamped on the tray tables attached to the new leather recliners. The seats are very comfortable and glide back with considerable ease at the touch of a button. The swivel tray tables are very handy for cell phones and snacks and can be pulled close or pushed off to the side.
Every other row of seats has been removed so one can fully recline in maximum comfort. I sat in the second-to-last row (G)and never felt a kick or anything. A nice change.
The floors are now wood laminate and provide a nice classy touch. Instead of stale popcorn, everything smells of wood and leather. It’s like being inside a Lexus.
The price for a 3D matinee was the same as before the upgrade. We’ll see how long they can maintain that. My guess is since they’ve lost half the seats, prices will have to rise eventually.
Overall a very enjoyable experience, one which gives me considerable hope that the big-screen re-do might be a good thing after all. We shall see in July.
Two pictures added for your reference.
My guess is that it makes more sense to have five theaters up and running by May 1st… I imagine July 4th would be a good of day as any to unveil the new big screen. Perhaps Terminator Genysis will kick things off. I can’t wait to see the finished product. I grew up watching films at Big a Newport. I worked there from 1990 through 1992. I can barely articulate how much this place means to me. I live in LA now but will happily make the trek down south to see what’s doing. I can guarantee my attendance in late December for Star Wars.
Make that theaters 2 and 3 by the end of April.
I actually just spoke with someone at the Newport who said the big screen will be closed until June or July. Apparently theaters 3 and 4 will be done by the end of April. She thought it was strange that they did the stadium theaters first, too. She offered that they probably wanted the smaller theaters done first because they take less time. Still, how do you not have your biggest theater available for the start of the summer movie season? Especially when you’re removing 50 percent of the seats in the small theaters.
Richie_T: I notice that the three stadiums theaters are now listed as having reclining seats and reserved seating. They were closed when I visited on March 16, the big screen was still open. Were you able to look inside the stadium theaters? I find it odd that they renovated the stadium theaters first and not the big screen. We’re a month away from the start of the summer movie season. Is the big screen really going to be ready for The Avengers May 1?
The renovation of the big screen has begun… Fingers crossed.
Actually caught “Unbroken” on the big screen over the weekend (I figured it was most likely the last time I’d see a film here in its original configuration). Asked about the pending renovation and was told things would get started next month, beginning with the big-screen auditorium and then the smaller theaters after that. Apparently the big screen will become one of Regal’s proprietary RPX theaters, not IMAX. RPX features reclining seats, giant screen, dual digital projection, immersive sound, etc. Basically like IMAX without the licensing fees. The employee I spoke with said the big screen would be closed for 2-4 months during renovation. My guess is they’ll have it ready for “Avengers 2” on May 1.
A 50 percent reduction in seating with both sloped and stadium seating, not to mention IMAX? My beloved Big Newport is truly dead.
What’s up with all the comments about “The Rocketeer” posted yesterday? There were over twenty of them. Anyway, I think the sound format of the film’s 70mm prints was Dolby A, not Dolby SR. And I believe only Screen #3 (the smallest and newest of the three in service at the time) at Edwards Newport was THX certified. Did “The Rocketeer” play on screen #3 or the big screen? I didn’t see it there, so I can’t say for sure. (I saw it once at the AMC MainPlace in Santa Ana and a second time at the El Capitan in L.A.) I’d have to double check, but I think the newspaper promotion implied it played on the big screen. (A few weeks into its run it moved over across the street where it would’ve been in a THX house.)
So from what I read from this thread they are turning the Big N into an IMAX?? wow, although i welcome dual projection and hopefully the new Laser 4K Projector, I feel they can do this without the IMAX brand.
“The Rocketeer” showed at Edwards Newport Cinema in 70mm 6-Track THX Dolby Stereo SR beginning on Friday June 21, 1991 (the film’s nationwide release date).
They need to do it in the adjacent building next door (the one where all the auditoriums are on the lower level). The big house in there is an easy fit for an IMAX conversion.
I love this theater more than any other. I hope they do right by her. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be on December 18th, 2015.
OCRon, thanks for the update! Personally i am not sure how I feel about changing the Big N, although whenever I go it is usually the 7ish showings on a Saturday for the big event movies, since no one is ever there. There have been opening weekends when we were sitting with maybe 50 other people in that huge auditorium. I guess a remodel is the better option to it being chopped up or worse, closed. Did they tell you if they were going to serve food? The part about the swivel tables make me nervous.
As far as the layout, it seems they are going to make it look like the Ziegfeld with both slopped and stadium, that doesnt sound too bad. Hopefully they will go the distance and add in Dolby Atmos and one of the new Laser Projectors, but doubt it.
When they switched to digital in the big auditorium I called and asked the Manager. I think that post is still on this thread. I was told it was a Barco2K 32B. They also told me it was upgradable to 4K as they installed before the 4K projectors (non sony) were available. The Sony 4K cannot properly light up that size screen. Many AMC’s and Regals who all have Sony 4K deals outfit their largest screens with DLP projectors from NEC or Christie or Barco.
You sure about that stat, RobertAlex? Regal signed a deal with Sony back in 2009 to equip all of its theaters with 4K projection over the next 3-5 years. It’s pretty mind-boggling to think they haven’t updated their premier auditorium in OC by now, especially since they promote 4K projection on most of their smaller screens before the start of each movie.