Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: What's the latest theatre to close or open you have heard about? (part 2)

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Topic: What's the latest theatre to close or open you have heard about? (part 2)

Don Furr
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 509
From: Sun City, Ca USA
Registered: Nov 2002

posted 10-24-2019 11:47 PM

Yes, Disney owns The El Capitan.

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Mark Ogden
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 943
From: Little Falls, N.J.
Registered: Jun 99

posted 10-24-2019 11:59 PM

Disney does own the El Capitan. They were not named in the Paramount Decree because in 1948 they were not yet a "studio", they were considered only a producer of movies for RKO. They had the Crest on Westwood Blvd. for a while too, in some kind of voodoo deal with Pacific Theaters.

If the Paramount Decree is still in effect, it's very loosely enforced. In addition to the Sony/Loews thing, Mann Theaters were co-owned by Warner Bros and Paramount for some time also.

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Mitchell Dvoskin
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1869
From: West Milford, NJ, USA
Registered: Jan 2001

posted 10-25-2019 10:28 AM

Consent Decrees only apply to the parties that agreed to them. The consent decrees were never "law", they were an agreement between some of the studios and the Justice Department to settle the anti-trust complaints.

Sometime in the 1980's, Sony/Columbia and asked the Justice Department for a waivers from the Paramount Decrees when Sony purchased Cineplex Odeon in the USA. Their reasoning was that with the advent of multiplexes the exhibition business had changed so that the studios owning theatres were no longer a threat to competition than back when all the theatres had only a single screen and therefore could not play pictures from competing distributors. In any event, the Justice Department agreed, and over the years they have exempted all the original studios that still exist to ask for the exemption.

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Martin McCaffery
Film God

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

posted 10-25-2019 11:40 AM

Pix-Capri in Fondren MS to re-open (they hope). The proposed business model may need some work:
Clarion Ledger

quote:
Famed Mississippi restaurateur Robert St. John of Hattiesburg, backed by local developers, is turning his attention to what he calls Mississippi's "coolest neighborhood" with the announcement Thursday of a $13 million development in Fondren in Jackson.

The developments, which will span 30,000 square feet on the historic State Street corridor adjoining the Capri Theater, will include a Tiki bar called the Pearl, a bowling alley called Highball Lanes and a restaurant called Ed's Burger Joint. The Capri is going to be renovated.

St. John said renovation and construction on all projects could be finished within a year.
...
Transformation of the Capri Theater in Fondren

St. John said he's bringing reclining seats, a full bar and food to the historic Capri Theater in Fondren. Once renovated, the theater will offer a 40-feet movie screen, 170 seats and a state-of-the-art projection system. It will show "first-run" and classic movies, making it the only movie theater in the city.

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Jesse Skeen
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1517
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 10-28-2019 02:02 PM

Sacramento's UA Arden Market Square is history. Opened November 13 1992, it was among the worst-run theaters I'd ever seen. Went there the night it opened and film went out of frame during the last showing- certainly someone could have been upstairs to fix the framing if they didn't have time to redo the splice. Every other time I went there was one problem or another; usually a trashed print. Digital was dark after switching to that.

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Sam Graham
AKA: "The Evil Sam Graham". Wackiness ensues.

Posts: 1431
From: Waukee, IA
Registered: Dec 2004

posted 11-01-2019 08:47 PM

B&B’s Wheatfield 9 opens next Thursday in Topeka, KS.

The 9-plex features a Grand screen with DTS:X sound, an MX4D room, and a bar. No ScreenX (Regal actually retrofitted one of those into their Wallywood in town) and apparently no ScreenPLAY room. Heated motorized leather recliners throughout, of course.

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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!

Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 11-02-2019 03:55 PM

What is coming out in DTS-X?

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Jarod Reddig
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 513
From: Hays, Ks
Registered: Jun 2011

posted 11-05-2019 02:02 PM

Nice Sam. Topeka is just a 2 hour drive for me. Ill go check out that new theater one of these weekends

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Scott Jentsch
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1061
From: New Berlin, WI, USA
Registered: Apr 2003

posted 11-05-2019 04:37 PM

quote: Steve Guttag
What is coming out in DTS-X?

Movies Playing in DTS:X

- Doctor Sleep
- Elf
- Ford v Ferrari
- Frozen II
- Gremlins
- Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
- Midway
- National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
- The Polar Express
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - Opening Night Fan Event
- Terminator: Dark Fate
- White Christmas

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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!

Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 11-06-2019 06:23 AM

Okay...so it has a "DTS-X" track...and? What's on it? How are the speakers arranged? What sort consistency is there from one DTS-X room to the next? There is 16-channel DTS-X rooms and there is the capability of as many channels as Atmos...there is nobody steering that ship, from what I can tell.

At least with the likes of Dolby Atmos, there is a greater uniformity in the design and implementation from room-to-room. I don't agree with their "KMART" button to strip it down because it cheapens the product for EVERYONE (one exhibitor puts in a proper system, another puts in the bare minimum...both can say Atmos but one delivers the soundtrack as it was mixed, the other is a compromise).

With DTS-X...the customer has no idea what is in the theatre, sound wise. They COULD build it like Atmos but I seriously doubt many/any do. They'll go for that cheap system...which is going to be essentially a 7.1 system they could have gotten for even less.

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

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

posted 11-06-2019 04:52 PM

Dolby Atmos is pretty annoying for its own reasons. Vying for top honors of the biggest complaint: Atmos mixes that just don't sound any different from 5.1/7.1. I've heard a few really good Atmos-based mixes, so I have a clear idea of what it can do versus conventional 5.1/7.1. But most of the times I have gone out of my way to see a movie played with Atmos audio I didn't think the mix sounded any different than conventional surround sound. Mind you, this is the situation you find once you have finally found a theater with a good Atmos setup. Good luck with that.

If a viewer's first exposure to Dolby Atmos is in a theater that skimped on amplifiers and other important gear it won't matter if the Atmos mix being played is a great one or not. The "greatness" isn't going to shine through on a compromised sound system. That viewer will think Atmos is a waste of time.

DTS-X is an even worse situation than Atmos. At least Atmos has specific Atmos-capable Dolby sound processors and specific speaker layouts customers can anticipate seeing when entering the room. DTS-X seems to be an "anything goes" kind of process. They could put DTS-X on the marquee, yet I could walk into the auditorium and see a speaker configuration that looked no different from standard stuff.

The marketing for DTS-X is terrible. The DTS web site (last time I checked) had no list of theaters where DTS-X is installed. I don't know what theater chains support it. I have an easier time finding out which theaters are equipped with IMAX' with friggin lasers system. The list of movies released with DTS-X tracks isn't quite as sketchy as a theaters list. On the downside, the list of DTS-X releases pales in comparison with Atmos.

Of course Dolby got rid of the theater installations map on its web site. It at least has a list of Dolby Cinema theaters. But you can't find out about non-Dolby Cinema theaters equipped with Atmos. AMC removed a bunch of theater installation list stuff from its web site too. Most theater chains anymore are vague at best regarding presentation details. I guess they want us customers to believe all the theaters are the same (except for the ones that cost $3 or more to enter). But the lack of attention to those techie details is one thing that has me staying at home more often to just watch movies on the 65" TV in my living room.

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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!

Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 11-07-2019 06:29 AM

You can never blame a format for how a movie was mixed. Woody Allen could release a movie in 70mm 6-track Dolby Stereo and you know it would still be Mono. That isn't the presentation format's fault.

It does beg the question if, like 3D, the immersive audio really only benefits some types of movies and shouldn't be thought of as the standard format that one has to provide as a distributor because those tracks that are genned up really don't distinguish themselves from the 5.1/7.1 tracks. Heck, how may 7.1 tracks show themselves from 5.1? Nobody complains about that, however. Then again, aside from a snipe at the beginning of the movie, nobody promotes 7.1 either.

What I REALLY like about Dolby Atmos is that, regardless of theatre shape/size, it scales such that what was recorded is what is played back. There is a lot of capability there.

If you think about it, 7.1 (or EX) is the least capable with respect to recreating the dubbing stage. The shape of the room GREATLY affects where those rear sound are perceived. If it is a long-skinny airplane type theatre, the rear surrounds are much further away than they were on a dubbing stage and vice-versa for a short-fat theatre. With Dolby Atmos, the shape of the room is cooked into the localization of the object. It's not perfect so extreme room oddities will still affect it but nothing like a 7.1 room.

The last time we had a system that mimicked the room the movie was mixed in was for 70mm 6-track with just mono surrounds. Again, regardless of room shape, the surround enveloped the listener.

Coming back to DTS-X...there is nothing keeping the experience even remotely unified. With Atmos, EVERY system has to go through a design review to ensure it will present the sound properly. I just wish the Kmart button didn't exist and one either did the system right or they didn't.

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

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

posted 11-07-2019 10:08 AM

quote: Steve Guttag
You can never blame a format for how a movie was mixed. Woody Allen could release a movie in 70mm 6-track Dolby Stereo and you know it would still be Mono. That isn't the presentation format's fault.

While that's true in the case of previous formats like 70mm or digital sound on 35mm film, Dolby Atmos is an entirely different situation.

There are conventional digital audio alternatives to Atmos. If a movie production's sound crew is going to create a plain vanilla conventional sound mix (or even mix it in mono like Woody Allen) there is zero justification for them to even think about Dolby Atmos at all. The conventional 5.1 layout would fill that production's needs just fine. Since the sound crew is typically in a mad rush to get things done they'll get the work done even faster with a 5.1 mix. And they wouldn't be lying their asses off to customers like me by passing off their tastefully restrained sound mixes as being "presented in Dolby Atmos."

I agree this situation is not Dolby's fault or the fault of the Atmos format either. My complaints regarding Atmos are directed at the movie-makers who routinely misuse the format and false advertise to movie-goers. Movie theater operators who want to stick "Atmos" on the marquee but not spend what it takes to do Atmos right also deserve quite a lot of flak too. Both of those issues ruin a lot of the appeal of Dolby Atmos. And that's a shame considering the amazing potential of Atmos.

The only complaints I can direct at Dolby regarding Atmos is the sheer cost for theater operators. The prices of Atmos-capable cinema processors has come down a little. Dolby recognized the painfully obvious issue with amplifiers by releasing their own line of multi-channel amplifiers with far more channels of amplification than amps sold by other companies. Still, any theater operator who wants to install an Atmos system and do it right has a difficult decision on why he should bother with it. If the content supply of "Atmos" mixes sounds no different than 7.1 why bother with all that added cost?

quote: Steve Guttag
If you think about it, 7.1 (or EX) is the least capable with respect to recreating the dubbing stage. The shape of the room GREATLY affects where those rear sound are perceived. If it is a long-skinny airplane type theatre, the rear surrounds are much further away than they were on a dubbing stage and vice-versa for a short-fat theatre. With Dolby Atmos, the shape of the room is cooked into the localization of the object. It's not perfect so extreme room oddities will still affect it but nothing like a 7.1 room.

A well-configured Atmos system in a movie theater combined with a sound mix that uses the process correctly will easily outdo the sound placement and panning effects of 7.1. But some of that depends on the movie production's sound crew using audio objects in favor of channel-based beds. Atmos' ability to configure room shape is definitely an advantage. But it works only so well -particularly in the case of ceiling surrounds. Powerful speakers are needed up there and lots of them. The steep angle of stadium seating and really high ceilings in many of these houses can make ceiling speakers very difficult to hear unless you're sitting in the far back rows, which puts the viewer much closer to the ceiling.

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Mike Rivest
Expert Film Handler

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

posted 11-19-2019 04:59 PM

Brea CA (Los Angeles)
Brea - Edwards Brea Stadium West 10 closed

Found out that this cinema closed on October 24th, 2019. It opened on February 5th, 1998.

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Bill Brandenstein
Master Film Handler

Posts: 413
From: Santa Clarita, CA
Registered: Jul 2013

posted 11-20-2019 01:30 PM

How does a 22-screen facility only last a couple of decades?

Oh, nevermind, it's Regal.

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