Columbia Place Cinemas 8
7201-802 Two Notch Road,
Columbia,
SC
29223
7201-802 Two Notch Road,
Columbia,
SC
29223
3 people
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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.
Wallieb26just uploaded an epic video of the cinema 10years later
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.
Reopened June 22nd, 1990 with 8 screens. Grand opening ad posted.
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.
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.
On October 20, 1979, Sen. Strom Thurmond (D-SC) Was Instrumental In The Showings Of “Monty Python’s Life Of Brian” Was Cancelled At The Columbia Mall Cinema Due To Its Nature. Rev. Bill Soloman, A Preacher At The Minister In Irmo Gave Credit To Him. Mrs. Thurmond Received A Call From Soloman And Later Called The Operators, General Cinema, Distributors Of The Film, And Asked That The Film Will Be Banned, Or No Longer Be Seen In South Carolina As It Was Replied By The Minister. 150 Protestors Then Demonstrated Outside The Columbia Mall Cinema To Protest The Cancellation Of The Film. Many Of Them Were Carrying Placards To Voice Their Concern On Censorship.
Warner Brothers Notified That 2 Days Later They Were Accepting Bids For The Film.
I’m Pretty Sure GCC Had Took Over Operations In The Mid-Late 1980s.
in this theater’s most recent run (it closed in 2012 sometime) did it run 35mm or was it digital? thanks.
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 am amazed that this location is now closed by their website… Should be changed to closed.. did someone build a Mega-Plex across the street or is the landlord just an A$$? it’s already stadium, the smell can be removed and the cleaning and coat of paint with the installation of digital projectors will generate income to then do seat replacements etc.. it looks like it was maintained by Regal.. if it had been a Carmike I wouldn’t even take a look it would be a shithole ran into the ground. an independent could get in here and make some money… the only thing must be a GREEDY LANDLORD!
It actually is an old General Cinema theatre. I was the General Manager there back in 1997. It’s been closed and re-opened two or three times in the last fifteen years.
Birthdaygirl, some story,too bad you weren’t around when i was in the Biz when moviegoers were treated like class.
It looks like an old GCC.
The theatre will be reopening in a few weeks under new management. While doing a Cinematour through Columbia tonight we were fortunate enough to meet the new management and get a tour of the building. Check out their site:
http://www.columbiaplacestadiumcinemas.com/
What gives you that idea?
It looks like it could originally been a General Cinema theatre.
The worst! No air Conditioning! Very poor picture quality- The images are what you see on bootleg movies.
I paid $9 to to see Get him to the Greek.
The 9:30 movie had not started by 10pPM and we had to leave.
The attendant who said he was the manager started a verbal fight after I told him I would try to have the theater closed because he would not give us a refund. The attendant threw money on the floor as I walked away then and the almost had a fist fight with my boyfriend.
The theater itself smelled horrible and the carpet needs cleaning. The whole place was truly awful.(We were moved to two separate theaters as the movie place kept changing). Did not visit the bathroom. NEVER GO TO THIS THEATER— IT reeks and they basically stole $15 from me.
We are both really upset. This ruined the date with my boyfriend. It is my birthday and the movie was something I was really looking forward to seeing.