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Topic: What's the latest theatre to close or open you have heard about? (part 2)
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Jim Cassedy
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1661
From: San Francisco, CA
Registered: Dec 2006
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posted 09-20-2012 10:55 AM
Lumiere Theatre, Indie Showcase, Closing.
Link To Story
The Lumiere Theatre, a central venue for independent film in San Francisco, will close Sunday evening.
Landmark Theatres, the Los Angeles chain that has operated the Lumiere since 1991, has lost its lease and could not come to terms with the landlord, according to Steve Indig, senior regional publicist for Landmark.
Located on the California Street cable car line at Polk Street, the Lumiere is broken into screening rooms of between 100 and 250 seats and earned the nickname "the Gloomier," for both its interior ambience and the type of film it showcased.
One of the first movies shown under the Landmark ownership, "My Own Private Idaho" (1991), set the tone, with the late River Phoenix as a street hustler. With no parking and not much of a lobby, the Lumiere's relevance was undercut when Landmark opened the Embarcadero Center Cinema in 1995. Like the Lumiere, the Embarcadero Center shows independent offerings, but it also offers free parking and has five screens. The Embarcadero seats were plush compared to the seats at the Lumiere, which felt like they'd been remaindered from retired commercial jets.
But the crumbly old house hung in there and was still thriving in 1996, the peak year of the indies. "Palookaville," "Leaving Las Vegas" and "Basquiat" all opened at the Lumiere that year.
The last Lumiere booking to really get legs on was the unintentionally funny documentary, "American Movie" (1999), about a Packers fan in Green Bay, Wis., trying to make a horror movie on the cheap, with a lovable cast of stoned losers.
In its later years the fare got even darker, with documentaries such as "American Mullet" (2001) and "Jesus Camp (2006)." But the seats were upgraded within the past 10 years, and the popcorn was always fresh.
It has been a movie theater since 1967, and now the last picture show at the Lumiere will be "The Intouchables" at 8:30 p.m. Sunday. Its closure will leave the Embarcadero, Bridge, Clay and Opera Plaza Cinemas as San Francisco houses operated by Landmark.
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Mike Rivest
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 185
From: Montréal QC Canada
Registered: Nov 2009
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posted 09-20-2012 05:34 PM
New Guzzo cinema in Ste-Thérèse (Montreal) as well as three more IMAX screens.
MONTREAL — West Island cinemagoers, look big and look sharp: Quebec’s biggest IMAX theatre is coming in December to Dollard-des-Ormeaux.
The theatre will seat more than 600 people and will replace two regular screens out of the 10 now open at Les Cinémas Guzzo’s multiplex on Sources Blvd.
It’s one of two IMAX theatres Guzzo is adding this winter to the five it already operates in and around Montreal.
And there’s another one coming by the end of 2013.
“It’ll be a total gut-out,” Vincenzo Guzzo, executive vice-president of the Terrebonne-based cinema chain, said of the renovations at the Sources Blvd. multiplex for the new theatre.
“This will be the first time the West Island will have an IMAX — it’s never been done before,” he told The Gazette. “And it’s going to be Quebec’s largest IMAX screen — in excess of 600 seats.”
Why choose the West Island?
“Because we feel that the English market on the West Island is a premium market for people going to see those kind of movies,” many of which are Hollywood blockbusters, he replied.
The expansion was announced early Wednesday morning by IMAX Corp.’s investment arm in New York City.
The first new theatre will open in November at the Mega-Plex Taschereau 18 in Brossard, which now has one IMAX screen; it will have about 275 seats. “We’ll be able to show movies in French and English without having to split showtimes,” as is done now with the single screen, Guzzo said.(2nd venue in the world to have more than one IMAX screen)
The second will open in December at Cinéma des Sources 10 in Dollard. The third, with 450 to 500 seats, will be in a new megaplex Guzzo will start building next spring in Ste-Thérèse for opening around Christmas (2013).
IMAX has 663 theatres in 52 countries, including 37 in Canada that are operating or contracted to open. Guzzo operates five of them: two at Marché Central in north-end Montreal (the second opened in July); one on Taschereau Blvd. in Greenfield Park, one in Pont-Viau, Laval; and the other at the Taschereau Blvd. multiplex in Brossard.
Les Cinémas Guzzo is a family-owned business founded by Vincenzo’s Italian-immigrant father, Angelo, in 1974. The chain has 142 screens at eight megaplexes and two cinemas in the Montreal area.
IMAX is headquartered in New York, Toronto and Los Angeles, with offices in London, Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing. ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
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Mike Rivest
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 185
From: Montréal QC Canada
Registered: Nov 2009
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posted 09-27-2012 05:59 PM
El Paso TX: Carmike & BigD 13
NEWS BITES US MARKETS
[News Story] EL PASO, Texas & COLUMBUS, Ga. Carmike Cinemas, Inc. (NASDAQ: CKEC), a leading DIGITAL cinema and 3D motion picture exhibitor, today announced that construction will begin shortly on a new Carmike Cinemas entertainment complex in El Paso, TX. The Carmike 13 will be an anchor tenant of a 230 acre multi-use planned development to be constructed at the northeast corner of Montana Avenue (US 62) and Loop 375 in one of El Paso's fastest growing areas. The planned development is located directly across the street from a new Lowe's Home Improvement Center and a Wal-Mart Supercenter.
Jay Anthony, Principal of Dallas, TX-based Anthony Properties, developers of the project, stated, "New construction at Fort Bliss, proximity to the planned Army Medical Campus and the future El Paso Community College Campus make this a prime site that will attract additional top-tier retail, restaurant and commercial tenants to the area."
The new theatre will feature 13 screens with total seating for over 2,800 guests and will be highlighted by a state-of-the-art "BIGD" auditorium, Carmike's acclaimed premium theatre environment. The new facility will be equipped with auditoriums featuring stadium style seating, with comfortable high back rocking luxury seats, in addition to retractable armrests and convenient cup holders. The Carmike 13 will also contain large, wall-to-wall screens, as well as DLP DIGITAL projection and DIGITAL sound. The new theatre will have an upscale lobby and multiple concession areas featuring Coca Cola Freestyle drink centers. One-stop ticketing and concessions stations are a unique design feature of the Carmike 13. Filmgoers can escape the elements, purchase their tickets and favorite concessions and quickly move into their comfortable seats. The new complex will also feature special services for the visual and hearing impaired.
Notes Carmike President and CEO David Passman: "We're providing the ultimate entertainment experience that centerpieces large format DIGITAL with bigger screens, bigger sound, and luxurious theatre seating for cutting-edge presentation and the definitive enjoyment of our audiences. With the opening of the new location, the El Paso area joins a select and growing list of communities across the nation offering Carmike theatregoers the exciting new "BIGD" format. The "BIGD" auditorium will seat nearly 600 guests in luxurious comfort.
Expected to draw area movie-goers from across the region to the "BIGD" Experience will be its totally enhanced theatre amenities, including a wall-to-wall screen measuring over 81 feet wide and three stories tall, enhanced by the latest in 7.1 surround sound and DIGITAL projection of both 2D and 3D features. In technical terms, Carmike's "BIGD" DIGITAL Experience is powered by a cutting-edge Christie Brilliant 3D flash projector. The end result is a light output of 30,000 lumens, creating a picture quality with noticeably higher resolution than HD.
The "BIGD" environment will be further embellished by the comfort of plush leather high-back rocking seats placed for optimal viewing in a stadium-seating configuration. - in either 3-D or 2-D DIGITAL - Carmike has the full capability to provide our audiences with the technology and total luxury that brings theatergoing to a new level."
"The success of 3-D releases for features like 'Avatar,' 'Marvel's The Avengers,' 'Transformers Dark of the Moon,' 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2' and the record-breaking re-launch of 'The Lion King in 3-D,' proves that audiences are excited about and enjoy a premium DIGITAL experience, and are demanding it," said Mr. Passman. "These successes will no doubt persuade producers to release more movies in this format, so moviegoers can truly enjoy our "BIGD" experience."
"We have developed more than 40 theatres for Carmike Cinemas over the past 25 years and are very pleased to add this outstanding location to the growing portfolio," added Mr. Anthony. "The El Paso market offers strong demographics, a diverse economy and a pro-growth business environment."
Plans for Carmike's "BIGD" Experience includes more locations in 2012-13 such as Cleveland, TN, Sandestin, FL, Jacksonville, NC, Winchester, VA, and Decatur, AL. "Whether it is a movie, concert, sporting event, motivational speaker or church service, Carmike guests will find "BIGD" placing them at the heart of the event," notes Terrell Mayton, Carmike's Director of Marketing.
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Michael Marini
Film Handler
Posts: 27
From: issue maryland/ USA
Registered: Dec 2005
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posted 10-05-2012 11:11 AM
Posted on Mon, Sep. 24, 2012 11:07 PM
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Dickinson Theatres files for bankruptcy reorganization
Overland Park-based Dickinson Theatres Inc. files for bankruptcy reorganization.
BY JOYCE SMITH AND STEVE ROSEN
The Kansas City Star
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Dickinson Theatres Inc., a 92-year-old movie theater chain based in Overland Park, has filed for bankruptcy reorganization after being battered by the soft economy, intense competition in the industry and a dearth of blockbuster hits this summer.
Dickinson has 210 screens in 18 theater complexes in seven states, including theaters in Blue Springs, Lee’s Summit, the Northland, Olathe, Overland Park and Shawnee.
The landlord for Dickinson’s Blue Spring 8 complex is negotiating with another movie theater operator to take over those screens.
Two theaters in other markets — one in Kansas and one in Oklahoma — will close in about 30 days, although the company would not confirm specific locations.
However, the company’s remaining theaters will remain open during the court proceedings.
“We had some bad leases, bad contracts, and at the end of the day this will make us a stronger company,” Ron Horton, who purchased Dickinson Theatres in January, said Monday. “This is still a viable company.”
Horton, a minority shareholder and former executive vice president of film buying and marketing for Dickinson, purchased the company from John Hartley. Dickinson has about 700 employees systemwide.
Paul Hoffmann, attorney for Dickinson and a partner at Stinson Morrison Hecker LP, called the bankruptcy filing Friday in federal court in Kansas City, Kan., “an unfortunate but necessary step driven by the economy in general, and by what’s going on in the movie industry specifically.”
The industry continues to convert from film to digital projection “and there’s a cost” for all the upgrades and theater renovations, Hoffmann said.
In addition, attendance was down during the summer movie season. As a result, Hoffmann said, the company is short of cash to get it through the upcoming holiday season.
The plan calls for paying all of Dickinson’s creditors in full in five years. The company hopes its reorganization plan will be confirmed by Thanksgiving, Hoffmann said.
The movie theater chain listed $13.4 million in liabilities and $21.1 million in assets, according to Hoffmann.
“We’re asking for time, we’re not asking for forgiveness,” he said.
Movie theaters are competing for business with an ever-growing number of forces, including cable and video on demand, services such as Netflix, the Internet and video kiosks like Redbox.
To attract moviegoers and beef up revenues, theater companies have expanded concession offerings including adding alcoholic products, and remodeled older venues by putting in cushy loungers and other amenities. Theater operators also have tried to boost revenue by adding more advertising before shows.
Keeping up with digital technologies can be expensive but allows for special event programming such as live operas and sports events.
Dickinson traces its roots to 1920, when Glen W. Dickinson Sr. quit the family’s Ford dealership (which specialized in tractors) and purchased a somewhat more glamorous enterprise, a two-screen theater in Manhattan, Kan.
Dickinson’s first theater took off in the growing college community and he soon added a second location in another college town, Lawrence. By 1931, the company had grown to 26 theaters.
In 1946 it opened its first drive-in theater and two decades later its flagship Glenwood Theatre at 91st Street and Metcalf Avenue. The Glenwood was regarded as Kansas City’s premier movie house for nearly 40 years before it closed in 2000 and was later demolished to make way for new commercial development.
In 1980 Dickinson bought 25 screens from the Mann Theatres chain, giving it 71 screens in four states.
The company also has been an innovator over the years in theater sound and production systems.
Dickinson first filed for bankruptcy reorganization in late 2000 after unsuccessfully attempting to renegotiate some expensive leases on theaters that were losing money. The family-owned business also was sold that year to three top managers.
To reach Joyce Smith, call 816-234-4692 or send email to jsmith@kcstar.com. To reach Steve Rosen, call 816-234-4879 or send email to srosen@kcstar.com.
Posted on Mon, Sep. 24,
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/09/24/3832305/dickinson-theatres-files-for-bankruptcy.html#storylink=cpy
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James Westbrook
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1133
From: Lubbock, Texas, Usa
Registered: Mar 2006
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posted 10-13-2012 03:00 PM
Really big show: Opening nears for 16-screen multiplex, Imax
The theater will open Oct. 26
Posted: October 11, 2012 - 11:06pm | Updated: October 12, 2012 - 12:30am
By William Kerns
A-J ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Premiere Cinema will hold the public opening of its 16-screen movie multiplex — complete with bells, whistles, restaurant, lounge and an Imax screen more than 39 feet tall — on Oct. 26 on the west side of South Plains Mall.
Tickets already are on sale at its website, pccmovies.com, for the Nov. 9 premiere of the James Bond adventure “Skyfall” on the Imax screen and Nov. 16 opening of the concluding “Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2.”
However, do not expect all of the big (or small) movies to open at Premiere, said co-owner Gary Moore.
According to Moore, competing theater chain Cinemark Inc. has asked studios to “clear” Premiere, meaning withhold movies from Premiere because Cinemark feels the new multiplex was built too close to Movies 16.
Moore explained that the Tinseltown 17 multiplex can open most films “because it is far enough away, down on 82nd Street.”
Those films awarded by the studios to Movies 16 probably will not be allowed to open at the same time at Premiere Cinema. And when studios approve openings at Premiere, the same films will not open at Movies 16, but can open at Tinseltown.
Having the only Imax screen in Lubbock may help Premiere after a studio pays the high cost of having a film formatted for Imax screenings, such as “Skyfall” and the December opening of “The Hobbit.”
Both of those films are expected to open at Premiere in Imax and Tinseltown.
With 420 seats, Premiere’s Imax ranks among Texas’ largest Imax theaters.
Moore calls interest in the new, multi-level Premiere Cinema in Lubbock “unprecedented,” adding, “No fewer than four studio executives already have confirmed plans to fly to Lubbock for our (Oct. 25 invitational) grand opening.
“They want to see it for themselves after reading and hearing so much about it.”
Premiere manager Rudy Leal said the only Oct. 26 openings confirmed thus far are “Arbitrage” (Richard Gere as a failing hedge-fund tycoon), “Chasing Mavericks,” “Silent Hill 3-D,” “Funsize” and “Sleepwalk with Me.”
“The Dark Knight Rises” will be the Imax attraction until “Skyfall” arrives.
Evening ticket prices for adults will be $9 in most theaters, $15 for Imax attractions and $17 if using the D-Box, which will be installed in one auditorium. The D-Box allows a viewer to feel motions seen on screen.
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John Eickhof
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 588
From: Wendell, ID USA
Registered: Jan 2000
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posted 10-18-2012 06:43 PM
I've been too busy until now but the newest theatre near me open up is the Magic Valley Cinema 13 in Twin Falls, ID. I managed to come out of retirement and take on the GM position! It is all state of the art (sans film though) and has been quite a learning experience for this 44+ veteran of the film era! We're all digital, BARCO with GDC LMS and servers, full digital lobby, box office and theatre signage (Jackroe) and of course RTS running all the POS. Built & operated by an old friend, Dave Corkill from Cinemawest in N. California. Once a customer of mine for 20+ years, now my employer! This is his first venture outside of California. Over 1700 full rocking seats, beer & wine bar, private party room, screens from 25ft wide to 55ft wide, all stadium and we run sports games weekly on the 55ft sheet in HD! Boy what a picture!! And we have HI and closed captioning in all auditoriums! We opened May 25th just in time for the busiest movie weekend of the year! And, obviously, we have taken a toll on the competition...I'm loving the biz again! I knew I wouldn't be away for too long!! check it out at cinemawest.com
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Mike Rivest
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 185
From: Montréal QC Canada
Registered: Nov 2009
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posted 11-19-2012 01:28 AM
Mount Pearl (St. John's) Newfoundland
Empire & Extra 8 for 2013
http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/911421/empire-theatres-to-build-new-state-of-the-art-theatre-complex-in-st-john-s-nl
HALIFAX, Jan. 26, 2012 /CNW/ - Empire Theatres, Canada's 2nd largest movie exhibition company announced today that it will open a new 8-screen theatre complex in St. John's, Newfoundland.
Construction on the land will begin in 2012 with the theatre complex opening in 2013. The new Empire Theatre will be located in Field Power Centre on Torbay Road, another project led by KNK Capital Group of Canada.
"We're extremely pleased to be able to bring a third facility to the St. John's area that will complement our Theatres located in the Avalon Mall and Mount Pearl. We enjoy a strong base of loyal and committed moviegoers in St. John's and are thrilled to announce this exciting new Theatre project on our land," says Dean Leland, Vice President of Media and Studio Relations.
The new Empire Theatre will blend entertainment with technology in a contemporary and unique design. All eight auditoriums will feature curved screens for that perfect picture; Dolby Digital Surround Sound for optimum sound; stadium-style seating for unobstructed viewing; and comfortable, wide, rocker-style seats with lots of leg room. Each auditorium will have 100% integrated DLP Digital Cinema Projection providing crystal clear images, as well as RealD 3D capability.
The theatre will also include an expansive main lobby, a lounge area with leather seating, automated box offices, an expanded refreshments area and rooms that will be used for community and corporate use.
In addition, the new Theatre will feature Empire Theatres' very own "Empire Extra" in one auditorium. Empire Extra provides guests with a heightened sensory experience in a special auditorium designed to offer dynamic sound, screen and seat quality. Empire Extra boasts a custom-designed multi-channel sound system for the ultimate audio experience; stunning digital presentation on a massive, wrap-around screen, and comfy, high back rockers. Along with the heightened sensory experience, Empire Extra offers St. John's moviegoers a new level of convenience; the ability to reserve their seats.
"We are excited to welcome Empire Theatres to Field Power Centre. Their state-of-the-art theatre complex will only enhance the Centre's positioning in the St. John's market," says Kevin King, President of KMK Capital Inc. "Leading tenants such as Empire Theatres contribute favorably to the tenant mix and will aid in our efforts to attract additional quality retailers to Field Power Centre."
About Empire Theatres Limited:
Empire Theatres Limited is a Canada-wide movie exhibition company providing an exciting out-of-home entertainment experience including traditional movie exhibition as well as other content using its digital and satellite capabilities.
Empire Theatres Limited is a 100% owned subsidiary of Empire Company Limited that owns and operates 50 theatres across Canada with 383 screens, including four IMAX auditoriums and five Empire Extra auditoriums.
Empire Theatres Limited' corporate headquarters are located in Stellarton, NS, with regional offices in Halifax, NS; Toronto, ON; and Calgary, AB. With approximately 2,500 employees, Empire Theatres provides excellent employment opportunities for the youth of Canada in an exciting and energetic industry.
Image with caption: "A rendition of the exterior design of the new Empire Theatres St. John's theatre complex. (CNW Group/EMPIRE THEATRES LIMITED)".
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