Regal Continental Stadium 10 & RPX
3635 S. Monaco Parkway,
Denver,
CO
80237
3635 S. Monaco Parkway,
Denver,
CO
80237
15 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 66 comments
Six screens on June 21st, 1996 after being closed late in 1995.
Grand opening ad and an article claiming the world’s largest screen posted.
Today is a sad day in Denver movie theater history. The last of the original big screen movie theaters has closed. Over the years I seen many movies at the Continental on the original D-150 screen in 70mm 6 track stereo, then later in 70 mm 6 track Dolby. I’m Hopeful another theater chain will reopen this Denver treasure. Maybe Harkins Theater chain.
Dronie:
Sad to report this location has closed.
A chronology of Denver’s 70mm presentation history has recently been published. The Continental is mentioned numerous times.
I’ve put together a booking history for the Continental, from 1966 up to 1978 so far, in case anyone might like to know when a particular movie played there. I’ll be happy to share my research with you. Take care – Ken Mitchell ()
I’ve always thought it ironic that the 70mm projectors installed at this complex were installed in one of the side theaters, not in the RPX house that once hosted 70mm screenings.
the continental originally opened 1/26/66 with the agony and the ecstasy. opening night was a benefit performance for the metro association for retarded children. regular performances began on 1/27/66. I am putting together a series of books on the history of the denver area’s drive-ins and indoor theatres (including a full booking history on the continental.) if anyone has any questions on the subject, please feel free to contact me at . I’ll be happy to share my research with you. Thanks ! Ken Mitchell
Does anyone remember if Disney’s “Tron” played here in summer 1982 and/or during its autumn ‘82 re-release?
Recent pictures posted in the Photo section.
Now called the Regal Continental Stadium 10 & RPX
Recent pictures posted in the Photo section.
I was the G.M. AT ALL THE THEATRES
When the theater reopened in October after the fire, it hosted the premier for Brainstorm.
When the theater reopened in October after the fire, it hosted the premier for Brainstorm.
I managed the Continental during most of the 1990’s including the first remodel and there are a couple of inaccuracies I want to correct. I know nothing about 35mm replacement lenses being inadequate and replaced for Shawshank Redemption. The same lenses were used throughout my tenure. Part of the design of D-150 was that other film formats were never allowed to come close to filling the screen, 35mm in particular. We did at one time experiment with using a different lens size to enlarge the picture but it was too washed out.
Indeed, the D-150 lenses were still in the booth when I left although they wer extremely scratched and unusable from years of neglect.
The D-150 screen was removed after the fire in 1983. The replacement screen was shorter in height by several feet and quite a bit shorter in length since the format was obsolete, although it retained quite a bit of the D-150’s belly. The original D-150 screen literally extended around the front rows of the theatre, similar to Cinerama.
Auditorium #5 is indeed the original auditorium, which I fondly referred to as “Old Main” after the remodel.
The 70 mm presentations did make the Continental a powerhouse in Denver. The Continental actually grossed over 50% of the Denver area gross out of 10 theatres on “The Abyss”.
According to the book Future Noir: The Making of “Blade Runner” by Paul M. Sammon, the first sneak preview of “Blade Runner” was held at the Continental on Friday, March 5, 1982. Other sneaks were at the Northpark in Dallas (3/6/82) & the Cinema 21 in San Diego (5/8/82).
Here is a Youtube video of the Continental projection booth in 1996 when it re-opened as a 6-plex.
I loved the original Continental. Saw a worn red print of Wrath of Kahn there about 2 years ago. It made me really miss the old days of giant single screen theaters.
Auditorium #5 is the D150 screen (not sure if it still has that curve after the RPX retrofit). It is showing the Justin Beeber concert movie. The large screen will now always be identified by the “RPX” tag.
I’d also be curious to hear first-hand impressions.
On Regal’s web site they do not list which auditorium has the huge D-150 screen. It is just a standard listing of whats showing and at what time. Since adding the stadium seating I’ve always wondered how that auditorium turned out. Any comments would be appreciated.
UPDATE: Yup, digital projection has been installed as well as 3D.
Today the Continental will have a soft opening of the big screen as an “RPX” auditorium, Regal’s proprietary name for “movies dun rite”. First and foremost this means you will be paying more for any ticket to the #5 auditorium.
New features include leather seating to enhance your moviegoing enjoyment, replacing the screen with “something larger”, all QSC amps (which it already had as do most auditoriums in the entire Denver metro area) and a 102 speaker system (please note that this won’t be 102 actual speakers, they are counting the individual drivers in each speaker. So a single 3-way speaker would count as 3 speakers with Regal’s deceptive math).
No word yet on if they are still showing film or if they put digital in. Screen illumination has always been an issue at this theater so I would think they’d have to put in something really nice for a new, bigger screen. No word if the new screen will retain the D150 curve.
I believe the architect’s name is currently misspelled above. It should be Garrett, with a double t. Calvin Garrett wrote an article about the original Continental Theatre in Oklahoma City for the March 21, 1966, issue of Boxoffice Magazine.
While Boxoffice did sometimes (well, ok, frequently) misspell people’s names in articles, it would have been an extraordinary event for them to have misspelled an author’s name in a by-line.