AMC Classic Bloomfield 8

June 21st, 1996 grand opening ad in the photo section.

Digital conversion completed as of July 2012.

BLOOMFIELD 8 THEATER ACQUIRED BY

DIGITAL CINEMA DESTINATIONS CORP.

Conversion Into an All Digital Entertainment Center Coming Soon

BLOOMFIELD, Conn. (March 17, 2011) â€" The Bloomfield 8 theater, located across from Town Hall in the Wintonbury Mall, has begun an estimated $1 million conversion to 3-D digital projection and sound thanks to a recent acquisition by Digital Cinema Destinations Corp. (DCDC), Westfield, N.J. (www.digiplexdest.com). The 22,800 sq. ft. theater with 1,500 seats in eight auditoriums, was purchased from partners Dean Gentile and Tim Keefner for an undisclosed sum.
The acquisition of the Bloomfield theater was announced today by digital theater entrepreneur A. Dale “Bud” Mayo, chairman and CEO of Digital Cinema Destinations Corp. The Bloomfield 8 is the third theater acquired by the company which began operation on Dec. 31, 2010, the day Mayo acquired in-town theaters in Westfield and Cranford, N.J. All three Digiplex Destinations theaters will serve as the foundation of a chain of all-digital theaters that Mayo’s team plans to open nationwide.
Former Bloomfield 8 co-owner Dean Gentile, a resident of New City, N.Y., becomes Regional Vice President of Operations for DCDC working out of the company’s New Jersey headquarters in Westfield. His former partner, Tim Keefner, a resident of Stratford, Conn., has also joined DCDC as General Manager of the Bloomfield 8 theater, with responsibilities to spearhead further expansion of DCDC’s Digiplex Destinations theaters in New England. Both were former executives of Crown Theaters based in Norwalk, Conn.
The conversion to digital will also include new seating, carpeting, repainted interiors and a digital sound system. Once completed, staffing at the theater will remain at about 20 full- and part-time employees.
When the digital conversion is completed later this year, patrons visiting the all-digital Bloomfield 8 will notice a brighter, crisper, clearer scratch-free image. For the first time in the theater’s 15-year history, 3-D movies such as the blockbuster hit Avatar can be shown. Digital conversion will allow the Bloomfield 8 theater to become a center for special event programming delivered by high definition satellite, such as pop concerts, live sports events and auctions, motivational talks, religious ceremonies, and children’s series, thus allowing the theater to fill more seats during off-peak periods.
The first Digiplex Destination event will be Kidtoons Family Matinees on April 9 and 10 featuring free G-rated movies. On the schedule will be: April 9, Candyland: The Great Lollipop Adventure, and The Little Engine That Could; April 10, Tonka Tough Truck and Barbie: A Fairy Secret. After Apr. 10, the Kidtoons Family Matinees will be priced at $3.50 per person.
Digital conversion is also environmentally-friendly: for decades, Hollywood films would arrive in 70 pound cans shipped by air, truck and courier, consuming fuel and up to $1 million per film in distribution costs. With digital projection, movies arrive by satellite or paperback book-sized hard drive that’s downloaded into a digital projector, one for each auditorium. It takes only minutes to prepare a digital movie for showing, versus one to two hours to spool six reels of film onto a platter, thread it into a projector, then respool it for return shipment at the end of the run.
DCDC’s Bud Mayo says, “In a digital theater, the audience will be totally immersed in the experience. They will be able to text back questions and comments, sing along, host tailgate parties outside, even perform skits to accompany the program, as appropriate.

“Corporate and professional groups will save time, and consume less energy and money using Digiplex Destination theaters as a meeting place.”
Mayo continues, “Digital technology allows us to redefine what it means to go to a movie theater.”
For more information on the Bloomfield 8 and DCDC, log onto www.digiplexdest.com

About Digital Cinema Destinations Corporation

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Westfield, N.J., Digital Cinema Destinations
Corporation is dedicated to transforming movie theaters it operates into interactive
entertainment centers. Operating under the brand name, “Digiplex Destinations,” DCDC
will provide consumers with uniquely satisfying experiences, combining the full promise
of digital technology with engaging, dynamic content that far transcends traditional
cinematic fare. DCDC customers will enjoy live sports events, concerts, conferences,
operas, videogames, auctions, fashion shows and, on an ongoing basis, the very best of
first-run movies. DCDC is a privately held corporation. For more information, visit
www.digiplexdest.com

Mar. 17, 2011

Nice having a lower priced theatre in the area, but it’s still only good if you see scope films. Still no masking for flat films.

Bloomfield 8 Cinemas will reopen April 24 2008 at 6:00 P.M.
Their phone is: 860-242-FILM

Check out www.bloomfield8.com in the next couple of weeks as you will be able to apply on line.

I also hope they put screen masking in too. Tried to make sure to not see flat movies here. I think it’s an Entertainment Cinemas thing

You are right! There is an article in the Hartford Courant today that states that K and G Theaters will reopen this cinema in April.
View link

What company will it be run by?

I haven’t heard any rumors about ti reopening. They want WAY too much money in rent.

I guess Crown Palace 17’s discount policy during the week (6.00 for adults, 4.00 before 6 and for everyone else at night), their new student rate (since the theater is close to a few schools), and the fact the theater was in poor repair, had bad sound, and uncomfortable seats was the reason it hasn’t been a top proformer lately. I agree a cinema cafe would do well in that location.

I had also heard of rumors years ago that Entertainment Cinemas wanted to expand the theater to have 12 screens (this was during the multiplex boom (1998-2000) that brought the Hartford area a bunch of new multi and megaplexes – including the Palace 17, Buckland Hills, and Loews Plainville). Also too BCG owns (I belive although I am confused about) the nearby Simsbury Commons 8, even though the signage still says ‘Hoyts’ I belive the rights reverted back to Boston Culinary Group.

Did Entertainment Cinemas pull everything out of the theatre?