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Topic: What's the latest theatre to close or open you have heard about?

Martin McCaffery
Film God

Posts: 2481
From: Montgomery, AL
Registered: Jun 99

posted 05-31-2010 12:15 PM

One would think there are fines and legal fees involved which make that a bad business decision.The way it is presented in the article sounds like a standard business plan.

Admittedly, similar nonsense goes on here in AL where we have current use taxes on some things. If it is not being used for anything, the taxes are basically non-existent, so sometimes it is easier to just leave an rotting abandoned building instead of leasing it or selling it. But to announce you are not going to pay your taxes...

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Jonathan Althaus
Master Film Handler

Posts: 435
From: Bedford, TX
Registered: Dec 2008

posted 06-01-2010 02:14 PM

AMC Grand 24 in Dallas is closing?!?

http://www.investor.amctheatres.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=474026

quote:
Kansas City, Mo. (May 27, 2010) - AMC Entertainment Inc. (AMC), one of the world's largest theatrical exhibition and entertainment companies, announces today that its wholly owned subsidiary, American Multi-Cinema, Inc., will not exercise its option to extend the lease for AMC The Grand 24, currently held by EPT Down REIT II Inc., a subsidiary of Entertainment Properties Trust (EPT).

This marks the end of an era, as AMC The Grand 24 was the first megaplex - a theatre with 14 auditoriums or more and stadium seating - ever built in the United States in 1995.

"It's disappointing that we have not come to terms on a historical, and to us, a somewhat sentimental property," said Gerry Lopez, AMC's chief executive officer and president. "But in our opinion, the proposal advanced by EPT is simply untenable. We continue to negotiate with EPT on several other properties and will see where those discussions take us."

The EPT lease contains a notice deadline of May 31, 2010 to exercise its renewal option. Because AMC elected not to exercise its option to renew the lease, it will now expire on Nov. 30, 2010. AMC will vacate the premises and remove its equipment prior to this date.

"Throughout the past 15 years at AMC The Grand 24, we made history and developed many friends in the community" said Mark McDonald, AMC's executive vice president of global development. "We will miss them."

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 06-01-2010 06:39 PM

The building owners probably saw an article about how movie theatres are "raking in" profits from 3-D by "jacking up" ticket prices, so they decided to "skyrocket" the rent.

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Mike Rivest
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 185
From: Montréal QC Canada
Registered: Nov 2009

posted 06-02-2010 07:54 PM

Was the neighbourhood around the AMC Grand 24 in decline?

Here in Montréal, the home of hockey [Smile]

, The Ex Centris will reopen and expanded to five screens for French-Language arthouse fare according to La Presse (with help from the overtaxed Quebec Taxpayers)
http://moncinema.cyberpresse.ca/nouvelles-et-critiques/nouvelles/nouvelle-cinema/11781-projet-a-letude-le-cinema-parallele-de-retour-a-excentris.html

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Jonathan Althaus
Master Film Handler

Posts: 435
From: Bedford, TX
Registered: Dec 2008

posted 06-02-2010 09:06 PM

Yes, the neighborhood has declined severely. It was near the Cowboys old stadium as well.

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Michael Riley
Film Handler

Posts: 52
From: New Jersey
Registered: Apr 2010

posted 06-03-2010 10:46 PM

http://www.bristolpress.com/articles/2010/05/12/news/doc4beb564d32fb0668565373.txt

The Southington, CT Drive In is finally coming back this year after shutting down following the Summer 2002 season. It was still very popular at the time of it's closing, but the owners decided the real estate was more valuable than the business. After numerous failed attempts to sell the property to private investors, the property was finally sold off to the Town of Southington in 2003 or so, and all the remaining theater equipment was auctioned off. The city tore down one of the screens, and had plans to use the property for recreational purposes, but that naver came to fruition, and it's been nothing more than an empty, abandoned lot for the last 8 years.

I'm glad to see they're reviving the theater, and I'm interested to see how this will work. I hope they actually set up an projector and get some 35mm prints, as trying to run off a DVD outdoor isn't going to work. Also $10 or $12 for a second run classic is a bit pricey, but I guess they do have to make a profit for this to work. I hope they can get some better films in there as well, ET isn't one of my favorites, and that 2002 re-release was kind of a dud.

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 06-03-2010 11:10 PM

It's kind of a shame in historical terms that the Grand 24 is closing. At the same time I'm not too surprised. The Grand is one of several "megaplex" sites AMC had to sell and then lease in the late 1990s. The company was drowning in debt and headed for bankruptcy. Now, with the rent situation as well as the decline going on in that area of Dallas the theater's closure makes sense.

The Grand 24 was interesting when it first opened, but the novelty wore off after a few visits. Other "megaplex" sites opened in the DFW area, some with lots of screens and others with fewer screens but at least one or more giant sized screens. I kind of liked how the United Artists Galaxy 9 theater nearby in Garland was decorated. Then AMC opened a couple 30-plex sites featuring some of the tiniest auditoriums I've ever seen just to get the number to that 30 mark.

In terms of show quality my best viewing experience at the Grand 24 was a toss-up between Heat and Desperado. The theater couldn't come close to matching the show quality of the General Cinemas Northpark 1-2 theater. Die Hard With A Vengeance was the first movie I saw at the Grand 24. I saw that movie twice that day, once at the Grand and then at the Casa Linda 4. The Casa Linda 4 had better sound (no echo unlike the big rooms at the Grand).

I'm wondering if another theater company will try to take over the site. I suppose that's doubtful. The overhead would probably be too high to have it operate as a 2nd run/bargain site. The owners may just have the site bulldozed for condos or other development. We'll have to see what the development planned for the former Texas Stadium site does to improve that area, but that's years in the future. I think the stadium site will be a staging area for a massive road construction project to improve that really goofy interchange in the near term.

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Jeff Arellano
Film Handler

Posts: 41
From: Monterey Park, CA
Registered: Jul 2005

posted 06-06-2010 01:45 PM

quote: Bill Gabel
The former Cineplex Beverly Center 13 in Los Angeles, which was beening operated by Rave will close June 3, 2010. The retail company Forever 21 is taking over the space. Before Rave had the location Mann Theatres ran the plex for a short time.

I was on hand for the final set of the Beverly Center 13. This theater had opened in 1982 as the Cineplex 14, and was at that time the largest theater (screen count wise) in the United States. In 1987 the two 200 seat theaters were removed and replaced with two huge theaters with balcony seating, and theaters 3 and 4 were combined to make house 3 larger, making it a 13 plex.

Pictures have been posted on Cinematour's Facebook page, until more are uploaded on the Cinematour site at a future date.

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John Joseph Fink
Film Handler

Posts: 60
From: West Hartford, CT
Registered: Feb 2006

posted 06-08-2010 04:52 AM

Cinema City in Hartford, CT is closing and the art product is being transfered a few miles away to Bow Tie's Palace 17, where 5 screens in one wing will be dedicated to art films with a new cafe section. This makes sense since the Palace 17 also shows the same films as Bow Tie's Criterion Cinemas in West Hartford, so they can play the more upscale films in West Hartford, and the very mainstream stuff and art flicks in Hartford.

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Bill Gabel
Film God

Posts: 3873
From: Technicolor / Postworks NY, USA
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 06-10-2010 03:52 PM

AMC is planning to close the AMC Magic Johnson Crenshaw 15 in Los Angeles soon.

prnewswire

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Adam Martin
I'm not even gonna point out the irony.

Posts: 3686
From: Dallas, TX
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 06-10-2010 06:26 PM

The mall is claiming that they have a new operator for the Crenshaw 15.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_15266482

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Mike Olpin
Chop Chop!

Posts: 1852
From: Dallas, TX
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 06-10-2010 06:39 PM

quote: Adam's link
The theatres will close Monday to undergo renovations, that include stadium seating and 3-D projection. The closure will last about a year.

They need a year to put in 3D and stadium seating?!?

I think AMC razed and rebuilt Century City faster than that!

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Sam King
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 120
From: Los Angeles, CA
Registered: Oct 2006

posted 06-10-2010 08:04 PM

The AMC Century City 15 opened the day after the closing of the AMC Century City 14 on the other end of the mall. The old 14 is now home to a Containers and More store and a Pink Taco.

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Mark Campbell
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 148
From: Seattle, WA USA
Registered: Jul 2007

posted 06-11-2010 12:01 AM

I think this theater has a lot of competition from the nearby Bridge Cinema Deluxe in Westchester and Pacific Theaters Culver City.

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John Wilson
Film God

Posts: 5438
From: Sydney, Australia.
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 06-14-2010 10:48 PM

The Regent Cinema in Brisbane closed last night with a screening of 'Casablanca'.

There is supposed to be a 30 story tower built in its place. Disgusting.

Take a look at the Facebook page to save the Regent here and take a look at the photos.

Very sad.

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