|
|
 
|
|
Author
|
Topic: What's the latest theatre to close or open you have heard about?
|
Scott Jentsch
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1061
From: New Berlin, WI, USA
Registered: Apr 2003
|
posted 10-12-2009 03:25 PM
Magic Johnson cinema at Greenbriar Mall in Atlanta, GA Closed
By Rachel Tobin Ramos
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
http://www.ajc.com/business/magic-johnson-cinema-at-155307.html
quote:
11:50 p.m. Monday, October 5, 2009
The movie theater that bears Magic Johnson’s name at Greenbriar Mall — opened amid much hoopla 13 years ago – will show its last movie on Sunday.
The theater owner, Kansas City, Mo.,-based AMC Entertainment, said the 12-screen complex is underperforming. Employees were told last week the theater will close Oct. 11.
The company would not say how many people are employed at the theater or whether they will be offered positions at other AMC properties.
Ex-NBA star Johnson is no longer a partner in the theater, though it has borne his name since he invested $8 million to build the complex in 1996.
The project was hailed as investment in a slumping area. The Atlanta theater received a controversial $118,000 break on the city’s developer impact fees.
It was one of four theaters Johnson opened nationwide -- part of a larger business strategy Johnson employed to bring private projects into economically depressed areas. That has proven successful for Johnson, who recently raised about $1 billion for his Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund, his third round of equity funding.
One of his funds injected $12.5 million into the Selig Enterprises/Daniel Corp. condo project, Plaza Midtown on West Peachtree St., which is anchored by a Publix.
Johnson also owns businesses and properties in 21 states through Magic Johnson Enterprises, including dozens of Starbucks, Burger Kings and health clubs. And Johnson owns 5 percent of the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team.
The Greenbriar theater changed hands several times. AMC acquired it after merging with Loews Theatres in 2006.
AMC spokesman Andy DiOrio said the company has closed a handful of theaters nationwide this year as it seeks to upgrade or close aging theaters.
“While we understand and appreciate that community’s affinity with that theater, we also have two others in that vicinity, AMC Parkway Pointe 15 and AMC Southlake Pavilion 24,” he said.
Atlanta City Council member Jim Maddox, who represents the Greenbriar area, said he’s disappointed to see the complex shuttered, and hopes another theater company will take it over.
One of the mall’s owners, Charlie Hendon, said that a broker hired to fill the space has received interest from potential tenants, including some non-theater uses.
The closure is a second blow in recent months to the mall, which saw Circuit City shuttered as that chain liquidated. The Magic Johnson complex is one of the mall’s three anchor tenants, along with Macy’s and the Burlington Coat Factory.
Hendon Properties owns 50 percent of the mall. Canadian company Dundee Realty also owns 50 percent, and the mall is managed by O’Leary Partners Inc., the operators of Underground Atlanta.
In 2002, Johnson was interested in buying Greenbriar Mall, but talks stalled. It would’ve been Johnson’s fourth mall investment at the time.
Today, said Hendon, president and CEO of Hendon Properties, the mall in general is performing “fantastically.” The enclosed portion of the mall is 95 percent leased, he said.
In 2004, Johnson closed a T.G.I. Fridays restaurant he owned near Greenbriar Mall, and admitted it was due to poor customer service.
“That one was on us, and I learned a lot from that,” he told the AJC at the time.
Still, the theater was considered a boon to Greenbriar when Johnson took a chance on it.
Back then, the 68,000 square foot theater that can seat 3,000 received 774 applicants for 130 part-time jobs.
Hendon, however, said the theater failed to spur “cross-pollination” with the mall because it sits so far away. “I don’t think one added to other either way,” he said.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
Mike Frese
Master Film Handler
Posts: 465
From: Holts Summit, MO
Registered: Jun 2007
|
posted 10-15-2009 10:15 AM
http://www.timesargus.com/article/RH/20091014/NEWS04/910140363/0/NEWS02
The end credits were rolled across the marquee of the Movieplex 9 theater in downtown Rutland on Tuesday.
But while the word "closed" stood out starkest against a white backdrop now void of any movie listings, there was the promise of a sequel in the words that followed.
"We hope to see you soon under new management," the marquee read.
The Movieplex's closing coincided with the closings of Cinema North's theaters scattered across three states. At various times in recent years, the Movieplex has been threatened with eviction from the Rutland Shopping Plaza and was temporarily closed by the state Tax Department.
But the latest closing appears to spell an end for Cinema North, which is located in Rutland under the ownership of Kipp Mullin and Gerald Couture III. The company, founded in 1983, has owned the Movieplex since it opened in May 1995.
Newspapers in North Adams, Mass., and Massena, N.Y., reported Tuesday that movie theaters owned by Cinema North had closed within the last few days in those communities as well. The Movieplex in Rutland represents Cinema North's only remaining movie theater in Vermont — the Westway Theater in West Rutland closed last year. Cinema North owns one theater in Massachusetts and eight in New York.
Mullin and Couture could not be reached for comment Tuesday. However, Cinema North did release a brief statement citing financial difficulties for the Rutland Movieplex's closing.
"Due to rising costs, declining admissions and the current economic downturn the company could no longer sustain its operations. Unable to secure financing, Cinema North had no other option but to close the doors at its locations," the statement said.
The company didn't identify who the potential new owners would be, saying only "We are confident that the location will be reopened under new management so that the Rutland area will have a movie theater."
With the Movieplex closed, the closest movie theater to Rutland is in Middlebury or Woodstock — both roughly a 45-minute drive from the city.
While there was no indication from Cinema North about when the theater would reopen, Downtown Rutland Partnership executive director Michael Coppinger predicted the nine-screen theater would return to life soon.
"Our phone was ringing off the hook the last time they closed," Coppinger said referring to a prior eviction process that threatened to close the theater a year ago. "People were interested in it then as they are now as a viable business."
"My heart goes out to the employees over there, but I hope from the ashes a new management team will come in. I can't imagine it staying dark long," he added.
Whoever buys the business will have to settle some of its debts. While the Movieplex is relatively paid up on its utilities — only $82 in arrears — the city Treasurer's Office hasn't received payments from the city's 1 percent rooms, meals and entertainment tax since April. The state Tax Department also placed a $51,972 lien on the movie theater for unpaid sales and use taxes.
The movie theater's closing has also caused an unexpected problem for the state Treasurer's Department, which had planned to screen the documentary "Tricks of the Trade: Outsmarting Investment Fraud" there on Thursday.
An official at the state office said Tuesday that the free screening has been moved to the Paramount Theatre on Center Street, where it will appear at 11:30 a.m. Thursday.
| IP: Logged
|
|
Martin McCaffery
Film God
Posts: 2481
From: Montgomery, AL
Registered: Jun 99
|
posted 10-18-2009 09:30 AM
NCC's Union Station in DC appears to have closed. The article is about a church in the theatre. I don't live up there anymore, so not sure of the full details.Hope this doesn't violate the No Religion Rule;>
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/18/curtain-falls-on-movie-theaters-church-service/?source=newsletter_must-read-stories-today_more_news_carousel
Curtain falls on cinema's church service
Login or register to rate this story
D.C. church seeks new homeFont Size -+PrintEmailCommentTweet this!Yahoo! Buzz
Share
By his own estimation, the Rev. Mark Batterson has preached about 1,000 sermons in his makeshift sanctuary at Union Station's Phoenix Theatres, where his congregation has met for the past 13 years.
Last week's was one of the most difficult: In his remarks he told his congregation it would be the final service at their unconventional church.
The train station's movie theater closed abruptly last week. Mr. Batterson said that for the past two years he had been hearing rumors the theater would close, but he had been assured they were not true.
So it came as a shock when his nondenominational National Community Church (NCC) got six days' notice that it would no longer have the space for services.
"There is certainly a degree of sadness amongst our staff. And we're going through a grieving process," Mr. Batterson said. "I think that is normal and natural because Union Station has been a special place for us as a church."
Amanda Giobbi of Anacostia has been attending NCC for 2 1/2 years.
"It will be extremely sad to leave the theaters at Union Station," Ms. Giobbi said. "Union Station is where I first started attending NCC, and I have many fantastic memories there."
Widely known as the "theater church," NCC built a niche focusing on meeting the needs of young professionals in the city. From a congregation that numbered 19 in the 1996 when services started at Union Station, the church grew to serve more than 600 people and expanded to four other locations in the District. NCC owns and operates Ebenezers Coffeehouse on F Street in Northeast Washington.
NCC also has sites in movie theaters in Georgetown and in Virginia, in Kingstowne and Arlington. Those theaters are affiliated with National CineMedia LLC (NCM), a Colorado-based in-theater advertising firm that in 2002 created a division to recruit churches and businesses to hold services, meetings and special events in its theaters. The company works with 190 churches in 35 states.
Barry Brown of NCM said the Union Station incident seemed to be isolated. He said other theater churches have been thriving in movie theaters.
"We work closely with our circuit partners to ensure that churches have adequate time to find new space if a theater decides to close," Mr. Brown said. "We have only had something like that happen once or twice in our history, and the church was given at least three months' notice."
Many churches across the country are finding that renting a movie theater once a week is cheaper than owning and maintaining a church building. It costs about $2,000 per month to hold services in local theaters, church officials said.
Movie theaters are perfect church venues because the facilities successfully combine location, convenience and comfort, said area pastors hosting services in movie theaters. The churches utilize most of the space and the audiovisual capabilities that theaters have to offer - employing multiple auditoriums for adult and children's services, creating videos to go along with sermons, and projecting hymn lyrics onto the big screen.
Mr. Batterson, who has likened movie screens to "postmodern stained glass," said he still thinks movie theaters are appropriate for church services. He said he continues to see theaters as a great opportunity to cut costs, giving the church the ability to fund other world relief and religious groups around the globe.
"The theater is a safe place to seek God in the shadows," he said.
Mr. Batterson and NCM are actively looking for a replacement site. Mr. Brown hopes to have a list of alternate meeting spots for NCC soon, and said he will be looking to other theater churches in the area that will be willing to share their space.
Leaders of NCC hope to have another theater or coffeehouse ready by January.
"Remember, the church is not a building," Mr. Batterson said. "We are the church. And God is going to lead us through this."
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
Monte L Fullmer
Film God
Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004
|
posted 10-20-2009 04:53 PM
In Boise, another plex goes down. The Towne Square 6, built by Cineplex Odeon in 1988 by the mall came down this last week. One side of the building remains intact that contains small storefront business, but the rest was leveled for a new PetSmart store going in.
This was the first new cinema to be built in Boise since MANN's 5mile 4plex was opened in 1979. Prior to that, the largest was a single house with a twin added on to it in the late mid 70's along with a three plex built on the other side of the city in 1977-which is still standing as a discount house.
When Cineplex Odeon built this 6, it was the first theatre to use marble as part of the interior decoration - marble floors and pillars decorated the main lobby. Houses with dual maskings, full curtains and the newest invention being of "Dolby Stereo" -optical stereo sound - was installed.
This plex was was the tribute to the mall that was opened earlier that summer.
Now, one generation later, all this has changed to the megas and the expansion westward for new businesses.
| IP: Logged
|
|
Scott Jentsch
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1061
From: New Berlin, WI, USA
Registered: Apr 2003
|
posted 10-22-2009 11:52 AM
Clarksville’s Greentree 10 movie theater to close (Southern Indiana)
The Courier-Journal - Louisville, KY
quote:
The Greentree 10 Theatre in Clarksville will close after this weekend, shutting the doors on one of the area’s only second-run movie theaters.
Cinemark Holdings Inc., the Plano, Tx.-based movie-theater chain which owns the 10-screen theater at Greentree Mall, announced Wednesday that Greentree would cease operations after the coming weekend’s movies.
While the theater has lost customers to newer Great Escape theaters in the area, it still had a following with families and students looking to see movies at discounted prices a few months after their initial release.
Ticket prices range from $1 to $2, depending on matinees and weekend show times. On Tuesdays, moviegoers in a group of three or more paid 50 cents each.
In a note emailed to local newspapers that regularly publish movie listings, Greentree’s general manager, William Garrett, wrote that there would be “no further showtimes” after Sunday. Garrett could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
One regular customer, Tim Begley, an Indiana University Southeast freshman, looked concerned when he heard of the closing while headed in to see The Hangover with two friends.
The place has been like a second home to him, mainly because of the low prices, Begley said.
“The theater is kind of crappy, but for $1 or $2, you can’t beat it,” he said. “I’ve come over here a lot when I don’t have anything to do just to watch a movie.”
Chris Byrd, the owner of Corydon Cinemas, said the exhibitor industry has been hit hard by the economy. “You can’t raise your prices in this economy,” but the cost of utilities and fixed expenses continues to climb.
“We really are a concessionaire,” making the profit off popcorn, soft drinks and candy, Byrd said. “We make very little money off the movie.”
As of March 2009, Cinemark operated 420 theaters and 4,846 screens in 39 states and in 12 countries, primarily in Mexico, South America and Central America, according to the company’s Web site.
Reporter Grace Schneider can be reached at (812) 949-4040.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Scott Norwood
Film God
Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99
|
posted 10-26-2009 01:49 PM
The Stuart Street Playhouse in Boston will be opening (well, re-opening) as a single-screen movie theatre on Friday, according to the ad in Sunday's paper.
This opened years ago as the "Sack 57" twin cinema, which was later operated by Loews until the mid-1990s. At that point, one half of the twin became an indoor driving range, and the other half became a live performance venue. At some point over the last year, the live venue closed.
From what I have seen, the new owner (who also owns the popular West Newton Cinema nearby) plans to run art-house films. Boston has been without a commercial art-house cinema since the Copley Square mall cinema (a real dump) closed in the mid-2000s. There are a few other places in town (most notably, the MFA and ICA) which screen art and foreign titles, but they are nonprofits.
With this opening, the number of screens in Boston proper has increased by 50% to a whopping three. The other two are the very mainstream AMC (Loews) Boston Common (19 screens) and the Regal (previously AMC and GCC) Fenway Cinema (13 screens).
It will be interesting to see how this does; a single-screen house in an expensive real estate market seems like a difficult operation, but the owner is very experienced and this market has been crying out for a quality venue for art and foreign films for years. I suspect that it will do reasonably well, given the good location, assuming that it is a quality operation (which I expect it to be).
There are some other good art-houses in this area, but they are all across the river in Cambridge or Somerville or in the suburbs.
Interestingly, Boston has always had about thirty motion-picture screens since the 1920s, but they are currently consolidated into two (soon to be three) buildings.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
Mark Lensenmayer
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1605
From: Upper Arlington, OH
Registered: Sep 1999
|
posted 11-14-2009 09:02 PM
Look like the Gateway Theatre in Columbus, OH is undergoing another major change.
The 7-plex located just south of the Ohio State University campus (and about 3 miles from the AMC Lennox 25 monster-plex) was opened in 2005 under the management of the Drexel Group, a local organization. In 2008, management changed to Landmark. Now, effective sometime in January, 2010, it will be called the GATEWAY FILM CENTER, and managed by the owners of the property, Campus Partners for Community Urban Redevelopment.
5 of the screens will continue to show first-run commercial films. 2 of the screens will be programmed by the Wexner Center for the Arts, an on campus organization with a very successful independent/non-commercial programmer. This will give the Wexner Center more clout with distributors and the ability to show features longer than a 2-3 days.
This will be very interesting to watch.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classicTM
6.3.1.2
The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion
and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.
|
Home
Topic Closed
Printer-friendly view of this topic