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Topic: What's the latest theatre to close or open you have heard about?
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Scott Jentsch
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1061
From: New Berlin, WI, USA
Registered: Apr 2003
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posted 09-08-2006 11:12 AM
Lighthouse Cinemas in Pacific Grove, CA Closes on Sept. 7
Monterey County Herald
quote:
Movie theater's curtain call
Lighthouse Cinemas can't draw crowds
By ANDRE BRISCOE
Herald Staff Writer
An inability to draw first-run Hollywood movies and low attendance numbers is forcing Lighthouse Cinemas in Pacific Grove to shut its doors.
A theater representative said the last movies will be shown at the four-screen theater Sept. 7.
"We wanted to do everything possible to keep the theater up and running, but for all its quaintness and charm we simply couldn't get the kind of movies needed to keep it operating," said David Corwin, president of Metropolitan Theatres Corps., which has operated the Lighthouse for the past two years.
The modern, newly built Century Cinemas at Del Monte Center gets most of the first-run Hollywood films shown on the Monterey Peninsula, he said, and Lighthouse has not been able to compete.
Metropolitan operates 22 theaters in the United States. The previous operator at Lighthouse, Resort Theater of America, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in October 2000.
Plans for the building at 525 Lighthouse Ave. are up in the air, according to Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce President Moe Ammar. But he said several groups have indicated interest.
Property owner Robert Enea, managing partner of St. Michael Investments LP, has been looking at options for the building since last Christmas, according to Pacific Grove Community Development Director Jon Biggs.
"Right now he has submitted plans to use the building as mixed use, residential and commercial," Biggs said. "With the closure we're looking at proceeding quickly. Within the next month." The proposal to build the theater in downtown Pacific Grove was a bellwether controversy in the city during the mid-1980s. Some residents and city officials said they believed the theater would increase crime in Pacific Grove, while others said the cinema would provide a needed entertainment option for the city.
Former councilman Dan Gasperson, who voted in favor of the theater at the time, said most people in the community fought to get it. He said he was shocked to find out it would be closing.
"There was a period in time when some thought there would be rapes and drunken brawls in the street because of the theater," Gasperson said. "Some on the Council thought it was too big, but the four screens was the minimum to make it profitable. I think that every community needs a hometown theater. I hope someone would want to take it over."
The theater's fate was sealed once Del Monte theaters opened, Ammar said. At one time between 4,000 and 5,000 people would pass their time every weekend at the theater.
"It's impossible to compete with Del Monte," Ammar said. "We knew when Del Monte opened that it would just be a matter of time."
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Jeff Lacey
Film Handler
Posts: 54
From: Canton, MI, USA
Registered: Jun 2005
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posted 09-08-2006 11:43 PM
National Amusements continues to leave Michigan, closing two locations September 5th. Showcase Dearborn and Beacon East Cinemas bit the dust.... I worked at both theaters many years ago, but NA just doesn't do much in the way of upgrades, leaving the door open for competition to eat away at these older theaters...
Where have all the movie theaters gone?
quote:
Multiplexes gobble up small houses
September 8, 2006
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Movie theaters by the numbers
A few hours before the screens darkened for good, Arnold Reed stood bewildered.
"What do you mean they're closing?" Reed, 61, of Detroit said Monday outside his favorite movie theater, the Beacon East in Harper Woods. "Why would they do that?"
The Showcase Cinemas Dearborn also closed on Labor Day, the most recent victims of megaplexes sprouting up in the suburbs and drawing crowds with dozens of screens, digital sound, first-run movies and plush stadium seating.
Both theaters were operated by National Amusement, a Massachusetts-based chain that has closed seven movie houses in metro Detroit in the past four years. All told, the metro Detroit area has lost more than 100 movie theaters since the late 1980s.
The shift to megaplexes means more expensive tickets, larger crowds, longer drives for urbanites and the demise of classic movie theaters. But it also means more movie choices and show times, comfortable seating and state-of-the-art sound and pictures.
"You don't feel crowded here," Sharon Merriweather, 58, of Troy said after watching "Barnyard" with her granddaughter at the 30-screen AMC Forum in Sterling Heights. "The seats are bigger and cushier. And you have a lot of variety."
The drawn-out demise of classic movie theaters inspired Gary Ritzenthaler to launch www.waterwinterwonderland.com, a Web site devoted to preserving old movie theaters in Michigan.
"Multiplexes are built like giant warehouses; they have no ambience or charm," said Ritzenthaler of Commerce Township. "You are going to wait in long lines, and you aren't going to get the classic movie-going experience."
The battle for box office bucks has endangered the Shores Theatre, a 70-year-old movie house with two screens in downtown St. Clair Shores. Owner Bruce Ferguson said his theater's survival depends on adding more screens, an expansion that city officials have shelved indefinitely.
It's difficult for smaller movie houses like the Shores Theatre -- which charges $5 and $7 a ticket -- to compete because studios require first-run films to be shown up to six consecutive weeks. A larger theater can absorb longer showings while still offering other options.
"Movie companies want you to hold a movie for a long time, even if it bombs, so it can really hurt a small theater," said Dave Tolfree, general manager of the Shores Theatre. "It's really hard to compete with 15, 20 screens."
Even theaters with up to eight screens are falling victim to the spiffier megaplexes. Since 2000, at least 11 multiplexes have closed in metro Detroit.
At least two megaplexes are planned for Macomb County suburbs -- Shelby Township and Clinton Township -- by next year, and developers in Oakland County are hoping to build large theaters in Rochester and Bloomfield Hills.
The demise of smaller, low-profit cinemas and the rise of megaplexes mirror a national trend. Between 1995 and 2005, the number of movie theaters in the United States fell from 7,151 to 5,713, while the number of screens rose from 26,995 to 37,092 during the same period, according to the National Association of Theatre Owners.
MJR Theaters, an Oak Park-based company, has adapted to survive, dumping its small, discount theaters for megaplexes beginning in 1995. Since then, MJR has opened six first-run theaters with a combined 102 screens, digital sound, spacious lobbies and stadium seating. It plans to operate a 14-screen theater by October 2007 at the high-end, mixed-use Partridge Creek development in Clinton Township.
"We've tremendously upgraded the theater-going experience," owner Mike Mihalich said. "There's nothing like seeing 'King Kong' or 'Pirates of the Caribbean' on a 55-foot screen. It's special."
So how can small theaters compete?
The Penn Theatre in Plymouth, a 65-year-old movie house, reopens today after three years with the help of a nonprofit group that raised money for renovations.
Some movie houses, like the Maple Art Theatre in Bloomfield Township and Main Art Theatre in Royal Oak, play independent and offbeat films that aren't likely to appear at megaplexes.
Other theaters take on new lives, turning into churches, offices and stores. After closing in 1999, the 60-year-old Berkley Theatre was converted into a drugstore with its marquee preserved.
Now a popular dance club and music venue, the 80-year-old State Theatre in Detroit used to seat 2,200 people. The Royal Oak Theater and Emerald Theater in Mt. Clemens also were turned into music venues.
Such moves don't always work out. The Roseville Theatre reopened in 2003, showing films some of the time but also doubling as a dance club and music venue. It closed less than three years later, and the bulk of the building is used as a church.
"I'd be shocked if there were 20 family-owned theaters in downtowns in Michigan," said Ritzenthaler. "It's sad."
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Robert Burtcher
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 194
From: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Registered: Jun 2005
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posted 09-13-2006 03:26 AM
Dickinson Theatres plans to open it's second location in the Oklahoma City metro area, an 8-plex in Yukon, Oklahoma. The press release mentions that the building will be equipped with digital cinema projectors, although the exact numbers of film and DC projectors actually slated to be installed is currently unknown. Dickinson Theatres hopes to open the location by the summer of 2007.
According to http://www.dtmovies.com/Yukon.htm: quote:
Dickinson Theatres to build Yukon, Oklahoma’s Most Extravagant Movie Theatre Complex Developed by Ken McGee with WEP Land Holdings
Overland Park, Kans. – Thursday, August 31, 2006 – Dickinson Theatres, Inc., based in Overland Park, Kansas, announced today the building of Yukon, Oklahoma’s most luxurious movie theatre complex.
The new cinema will be located in the West End Pointe Lifestyle Center at the intersection of I-40 & Garth Brooks Blvd in Yukon.
The architectural plans include rich colors, elegant furnishings in a fun and exciting environment. The spacing between seats will provide generous leg room. The all stadium seated auditoriums will feature large wall to wall screens. Also included will be digital projection, the latest technology in theatre exhibition. The last performance of these digital showings are as pristine as the first, no scratches throughout all presentations. These will be some of the first screens with digital projection in Oklahoma and the Midwest.
“Our vision is to build a beautiful theatre that services our guests with quality presentations, above-exemplary service in a fun and comfortable environment,” says John Hartley, president and CEO of Dickinson Theatres. “We’ve taken input and concepts from our patrons for the last several years and applied them to the new theatre in the West End Pointe Center. From the parking lot to the lobby and auditoriums, we plan on building a theatre that becomes more to the patron than just movie-viewing; it’ll be a one of a kind movie-going experience…where fun meets the magic of movies.”
The West End Pointe Cinemas – envisioned and concepted by Dickinson Theatres, Inc., is expected to open by summer 2007.
Comment by Ken McGee, Developer:
“We are truly excited to have Dickinson Theatres join us in our new Lifestyle Center development. Already joining the West End Pointe development with Lowe’s, Kohl’s and Staples, this theatre will be the first building block for the next phase of the development emphasizing a great combination of entertainment, restaurants and retail shopping. The West End Pointe Cinemas will help us create a great family environment for ‘the place to be’ in not only Yukon, Mustang and the western part of Oklahoma City, but several western communities in the State of Oklahoma.”
Dickinson Theatres, one of the nations largest privately owned, operates 36 movie theatres throughout the United States with theatres in Kansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas. Dickinson Theatres is headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas and employs 1100 staff members, including 22 full-time corporate office employees.
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Paul Goulet
Master Film Handler
Posts: 347
From: Rhode Island
Registered: Jan 2000
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posted 09-17-2006 02:19 PM
http://www.valleybreeze.com/Free/372597241536498.php
The Valley Breeze
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Apple Valley Cinema closes with little fanfare
By BETH HURD, Valley Breeze & Observer Correspondent
SMITHFIELD - The closing of the Apple Valley Cinemas went largely unnoticed by many this weekend.
In a press release, National Amusements Inc., a national movie theater chain that has owned the cinemas since 1993, announced the fixture for more than three decades at Apple Valley Mall would show its last film Monday then close its doors.
Wanda Whitson, director of corporate communications at the corporate offices in Dedham, Mass. cited "business related factors, some of which are related to a population shift."
The last patrons of the theater, interviewed during the weekend's final performances of movies that included "Material Girls" and "The Devil Wears Prada," said the construction last year of a new theater, CinemaWorld, at Lincoln Mall on Route 116 in Lincoln, led to the local theater's demise.
This is not the first time the cinema has closed. National Amusements had stepped in to reopen the closed theater in 1992. Two firms, National Amusements and Entertainment Cinemas, had competed to reopen the cinema at that time.
As movie aficionados exited the cinema on Saturday, most had not yet heard the news they would not be able to come back. Of those who knew the theater's fate, the Lincoln impact was the main reason they saw for the local closing.
"The kids are all going to the Lincoln cinema," was the most often heard remark.
John Blue, of Smithfield, commented, "I'm not surprised. All the kids are going to Lincoln. I used to come here when they showed the second-run films. I think that was their downfall, when they changed. It's kind of unfortunate, you kind of root for the mom and pop businesses."
Lincoln, however, has nice seats and "it was only a matter of time," for the new venue to have a negative impact, moviegoers surmised.
Jessie Holburn of Johnston echoed his thoughts, saying "I heard the kids are all going to Lincoln, and they were going to redo the cinema in Warwick."
National Amusements itself will be providing more competition for theater goers' dollars by turning their Warwick location into the new signature theater concept, Cinema de Lux.
That update will feature lush décor, "Director's Halls" with leather rocking recliners, reserved seating for all performances, live pre-show intros, themed murals, escorted seating service and in-seat food and beverage service. Patrons of the theater will also be able to order tickets in advance by telephone or Internet, and if ordered online they can take advantage of the print-at-home ticketing option.
The theater will also feature a Chatters Bar & Grill where patrons will be able to enjoy dinner with or without drinks before or after the movie, or as a regular restaurant option for lunch or dinner.
The theater's 19 full and part-time employees have been offered jobs at other National Amusement theaters, including the Warwick location.
"Our employees are very important to us, and we are pleased to be able to offer all of the Apple Valley employees a position within the company," Whitson said.
"We also wish to thank our loyal patrons who have shared great movies and memories with us over the years and invite them to visit the Showcase Cinemas Warwick to experience our Cinema de Lux theater concept in late fall," she said.
Gift certificates to the cinema will be honored at other National Amusement theaters.
Copyright © Breeze Publications Inc.
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