Columbia Place Cinemas 8

Since it had gone independent by the time of its closing, another factor in deciding to closemight have been the cost of conversion to digital. Converting eight screens, depending on whether Regal had converted any of them, would have be a heavy financial burden on an independent.

I’m Pretty Sure GCC Had Took Over Operations In The Mid-Late 1980s.

There is a long article on a local site called Columbia Closings and I am going to summarize a few highlights here along with my own recollections.

1. It was originally opened as simply the “Columbia Mall Theater” to the recollection of the blogger. It opened in the late 70s originally.
2. It was located across from the Columbia Place Mall.
3. It was closed and reopened (or possibly transferred without closing during a decline) to Phoenix Theaters. My only visit to this theater was under this branding in 2006. It was called the Phoenix Columbia Place Cinema 8 at the time.
4. It received a remodel to stadium seating at some point after my visit in 2006. It then closed in 2011.
5. It reopened in the Spring of 2012 as noted above as Columbia Place Stadium Cinemas, but that iteration only lasted about 6 months before it closed again due to lack of attendance.
6. The last iteration seemed to have 3-D capability in at least some auditoriums.

mcs1996: I don’t know with 100% certainty, but I believe that it closed running 35mm. The version that closed in 2011 ended up with 35mm projectors in the lobby though. So I am not sure if the final version moved them back up to the booth or if they put in digital. It seems like a full digital conversion would have been an expensive proposition for a theater that was reopened independent and only lasted about 6 months.

So the original 4-plex was inside the mall? From the google imagery the newer building outside the mall looks like it has a 4-plex with a modern GCC wrapped around it.

The General Cinema Columbia Mall Cinema I-II-III-IV opened July 14, 1978. It closed on February 4, 1990 for a major renovation. It opened as the General Cinema Columbia Mall Cinemas 8 on June 22, 1990. General Cinema left its Columbia Mall 8 behind on October 18, 2000 in free fall collapse in Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closing all but 72 theaters nationwide.

Phoenix Theatres took on the venue November 16, 2001 as the Columbia Mall Cinema 8 to match the Mall’s rebranding, the venue became the Columbia Place Cinema 8 in early September of 2002. The theatre had a phenomenal run comparatively speaking remaining under Phoenix until closure on January 7, 2007.

Brian Cline and Columbia Entertainment Group took on the venue with the Mall scuffling reopening with stadium seating as the Columbia Place Stadium Cinemas 8 on November 9, 2007. It closed on October 20, 2011. A final operator took on the venue - likely with little to no leasing expenses - on June 29, 2012. That arrangement lasted over two months ending on September 16, 2012. The theatre stood vacant for 13 years awaiting demolition as the interior Mall went from greyfield status to ghost town - though still unlocked for mall walkers and a few stores in 2025.

Though perhaps unnecessary, the proper names here were the General Cinema Columbia Mall Cinema I-II-III-IV, General Cinema Columbia Mall Cinemas 8, (Phoenix) Columbia Mall Cinema 8, (Phoenix) Columbia Place Cinema 8, and the Columbia Place Stadium Cinemas 8 (technically, this entry’s proper name). BTW: Regal was never an operator here.