Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: NM chain Allen Theaters going DLP

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 10-07-2007, 05:52 PM:

This news is a little over a month old, but since no one else has mentioned it I figured I would do so. New Mexico-based Allen Theaters has announced it will convert most or all of its existing theater screens to the same d-cinema system used by Carmike Cinemas and Rave Motion Picture Theaters.

Allen Theaters has locations in most of New Mexico's smaller cities. The newest ones feature things like stadium seating and digital sound in every auditorium. The chain also has some old locations it acquired from United Artists.

I found out about this news while reading up that Carmike has apparently installed 2 DLP systems at the Land of the Sun Twin in my hometown of Artesia, NM. Carmike remodeled the theater's interior while the Artesia Main Street organization paid for a facelift of the exterior, including a large neon marquee. Carmike still refers to this theater on its website as the "Cinema Twin" even though its sign says "Land of the Sun."

Here's the text from the Allen Theatres press release:

quote:
Aug 20, 2007

Access Integrated Technologies announced that Allen Theatres will convert 87 screens in 14 locations to digital cinema using AccessIT's Theatre Command Center software and preshow programming and Christie DLP Cinema projectors.

This commitment is the eighth of its kind among customers of AccessIT's Advertising and Creative Services division. Each of the customers signing the integrated digital cinema and preshow programming agreement are provided with a networked digital cinema system that plays both feature movies and PreFlix advertising.

Its digital cinema system includes AccessIT's Library Management server and Theatre Command Center software, Christie DLP Cinema projectors and Doremi's DCP2000 JPEG server. To date, AccessIT has contracted to install more than 3,600 systems and has completed the rollout of more than 2,800 screens, as part of its studio-supported 4,000-screen Digital Cinema rollout plan.

Allen Theatres locations:

Alamogordo - Cinema 5
Alamogordo - Aviator 10 (under constr.)
Carlsbad - Cinema 3
Clovis - North Plains 7
Cortez - Fiesta 1
Farmington - Animas 10
Farmington - Allen 8
Farmington - Centennial Twin (2nd run)
Gallup - Red Rock 6
Gallup - Aztec 5
Hobbs - Eagle 7
Las Cruces - Telshor 12
Las Cruces - Cinema 4
Las Cruces - Video 4 (2nd run)
Portales - Tower Twin
Roswell - Galaxy 8
Ruidoso - Sierra Cinema 3

Posted by David Zylstra (Member # 4230) on 10-07-2007, 09:59 PM:

quote: Bobby Henderson
hometown of Artesia, NM

My hometown is Roswell, NM . . . . . . when I was there we had 2 twins (one north and one south) and a 4 plex at the mall . . . . . . now there is just the Galaxy 8 . . . . . . I've heard complaints about Allen theatre's presentation quality, not sure how true since they came from their competition - but digital will definitely help if there truly are issues.

Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 10-08-2007, 01:07 AM:

The old United Artist locations were originally Commonwealth Theatres.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 10-10-2007, 04:40 PM:

..any chance before they were Commonwealth, were they Cooper-Hyland theatres?

Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 10-11-2007, 10:12 PM:

In some of the 1960's Boxoffice magazines I have, it seemed Cooper/Hyland and Commonwealth co-existed. I don't know if one evolved from the other, or into each other.
This was back when Video Independent and Durwood Theatres existed as well. One of these evolved into a mega-chain...the other got eaten by a mega-chain.
Lou Walters was still operating his shop out of Dallas...
and scores of small-town theatres were operating nation-wide.