This is topic AMC purchases Starplex chain in forum Ground Level at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Michael Riley (Member # 5693) on 07-18-2015, 09:38 PM:
 
http://www.salina.com/news/starplex-cinemas-purchased-by-amc/article_63600a95-d221-5dc4-975c-e0b483a8a305.html

Another independent chain gone. Not sure if anyone here has a Starplex theater near them, but their deal was always buying decaying multiplexes and renovating them. They are also known for their discount prices, which always made me wonder how they ever made any money, since their prices are bottom of the barrel low, I think I pay $5.25 or so for their discount tickets through AAA, and their concession prices are on the low to average side too. They didn't spare any expense in renovations either, the theaters they took over here were turned all digital, and they recently installed the luxury recliners in one.

It's too bad, because I was rather enjoying my $5 first run movies, I'm sure AMC will make the conversion gradual so people don't notice as much, but within a year all these places will be branded AMC and feature the same highway robbery prices you see at all AMC theaters.
 

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Posted by Buck Wilson (Member # 5885) on 07-19-2015, 07:53 AM:
 
This infuriates me.

JUST WHY. WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY.
 

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Posted by Mark Ogden (Member # 43) on 07-19-2015, 12:51 PM:
 
I don't see this as a "conversion" situation at all, this seems to me to be a "buy out the competition and shut down the locations" sort of thing. Most of the Starplex sites that I am familiar with are older, raked-floor multis in not-great shape inside or out, sites that would cost MUCH money to renovate to AMC trade dress and stadium seating. The Starplex near me is not bad, I rather like the leather electric recliners, but state-of-the-art it is not and it draws from an AMC flagship nearby (specifically, the recently built and well maintained Garden State 16). I would bet that many of the older Starplex sites shutter, especially when they are in competitive distance from a larger AMC.
 

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Posted by Mitchell Dvoskin (Member # 751) on 07-19-2015, 03:54 PM:
 
The Starplex location in Ridgefield NJ was a former Loews location that was abandoned when AMC devoured Loews. I also suspect that at least here in NJ, these locations will be stripped to the walls and closed. I Hope I am wrong.

I believe, but not sure, that the other 2 NJ locations were also former Loews Theatres.
 

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Posted by David Buckley (Member # 2600) on 07-19-2015, 04:23 PM:
 
I know nothing of the history of Starplex, but one wonders if getting bought out was the strategy all along.
 

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Posted by Steve Dailey (Member # 5137) on 07-19-2015, 05:09 PM:
 
The Springfield, Missouri Starplex used to be a Showplex, which I believe was a spinoff of Dickinson Theaters. Dickinson built the theater in the early 90s. Showplex added two stadium seating theaters and an IMAX a few years ago.
 

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Posted by Manny Montes (Member # 5639) on 07-19-2015, 07:29 PM:
 
I wouldn't be surprised if AMC is continuing their plan of acquisition/renovation. A lot of these discount houses or older theaters have very lucrative leases and AMC can use their weight to leverage even better deals with the Landlords. This might actually save them money in areas that they wanted to get a foothold (and they can close sites that are competing with them). AMC would save money as compared to building a new theater either way.

As for "WHHHYYYY" as buck pointed out, I wonder if it had to do with their pricing as well, I can't imagine they broke even with some of their theaters charging almost nothing for first run. It's what I try and preach to every small chain or independent, don't get stuck in the "we have to be super cheap" mindset, simply being honest with your customers as to why you have to raise prices, as well as being upfront about it goes a long way. Plus you only have to be slightly cheaper than your competition and even if you aren't, as long as your service is better and your showmanship shines through every aspect of your operation, people will be willing to pay extra to go to your theater over others.
 

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Posted by Jonathan Goeldner (Member # 4854) on 07-19-2015, 08:59 PM:
 
so I assume this means the changeover to an AMC for the Starplex Loudoun Station Luxury Cinemas 11 in Ashburn Virginia - maybe that 'IDX' screen will be properly upgraded to feature Dolby Atmos sound.
 

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Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 07-22-2015, 09:04 PM:
 
Showplex began from the results of Trinity Hunt Partners taking over some of the locations owned by Dickinson Theatres in 2010 where two years later, Starplex acquired Showplex in their circuit.

And, last year, Dickinson was soaked up in the Mo. based B&B Circuit.

Heard that the full AMC takeover won't be realized until December, but do agree that a hunch is now set that AMC could dump off some smaller locations.
 

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Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 07-24-2015, 08:25 PM:
 
Who owns AMC? Chinese?
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 07-24-2015, 10:51 PM:
 
Yeah, Chinese. Wanda. That's a Chinese company.

Considering Starplex currently runs the 12-plex here in Lawton I guess that means it could soon be re-branded as an AMC. They could talk to my company if they want an easy way out on re-branding the signage. :-P

Probably a long shot for that particular theater to get "IMAX" or a Dolby Cinema screen. Of course Carmike on the other side of Lawton is building a new multiplex with an IMAX branded house.
 

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Posted by Jarod Reddig (Member # 6363) on 09-05-2015, 08:25 PM:
 
My town has a Starplex cinema called The Mall 8. Curious what AMC will do to it cause theater 1 still has orange and yellow sound fold wall hangings from the 70s I think. It's gone all digital tho since before it was Starplex. Was Dickinson, then Showplex, Starplex, now AMC once they take over.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 09-05-2015, 10:32 PM:
 
Best case scenario for here in Lawton: AMC closes the Central Mall 12 theater. They build something entirely new nearby in the 2nd Street shopping center.

The 12-plex in Lawton's Central Mall just sucks. Even converted to all-digital and 5.1 surround in every house it still sucks. The auditoriums are just stupid tiny. Some rooms have a max seat count well under 100. I swear some of the screens don't seem any larger than a good sized TV you see in the local Sam's Club store. The root of the problem is Central Mall is a 1970's era, single story shopping mall with very low ceilings. A movie theater can't do shit within the confines of those suffocating spaces. Other kinds of businesses could thrive within that kind of a retro mall format, but not any modern movie theater. Their idea of stadium seating is a joke. Most of the seating area is pancake flat with a riser in the back 1/3 of the room. It's just pretty sad. But that's all you can do with low ceilings.

If AMC is looking to make a move up in Lawton here is the blueprint for them to follow: close the 12-plex in Central Mall ASAP. Build a new multiplex in the same part of town. 2nd Street, just off I-44 is home to a new shopping center featuring some pretty good tenants, including Kohl's, Dick's Sporting Goods and Bed Bath and Beyond. The problem is the shopping center doesn't have squat for fun activities or dining. They need a new movie theater there as an "anchor." And there are parcels in that development area (which is a TIF district) large enough to hold a new multiplex theater. A movie theater in that zone would seed new night life business: the very thing people in Lawton have been dying to see in the downtown for over 40 years. Build a new movie theater there and other restaurants, bars, etc. will follow.

Carmike will soon open their new 13-plex + IMAX theater (the Patriot 13) out on Lawton's West side. That new theater is going to kill the Central Mall movie theater's business. Everyone is going to insist on going to the new Carmike, particularly since so many people get creamy over that IMAX brand.

The Starplex/AMC Central Mall 12 is far enough away from both Carmike's old and new locations it won't be stuck in an outdated allocation setup. Both first run locations can show the same movies. A new theater on 2nd Street would have no restrictions on content.

AMC could choose whatever theater configuration they want for a new Lawton location. Dine-in theaters are getting more popular (as long as the food is good). That could go over well here. I don't know how far Carmike and IMAX will go with their premium big screen here, whether it will be a standard 2K Lie-MAX or a new laser-based 4K setup (I'm guessing 2K Lie-MAX). I can't see Lawton-Fort Sill supporting more than one Lie-MAX screen. So if AMC wanted to do a premium thing they could do one of their ETX, Prime or Dolby Cinema things, although Dolby Cinema costs a huge fortune to install.

At the very least, AMC needs to get that theater location out of the mall.
 

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Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 09-11-2015, 07:20 PM:
 

quote: David Buckley

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I know nothing of the history of Starplex, but one wonders if getting bought out was the strategy all along.

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quote: Bobby Henderson

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Wasn't that originally Hollywood Theaters?

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No. Hollywood predates Starplex and both existed through the 90's.

I've never been able to find much history on Hollywood prior to the Wallace acquision. Their last CEO, Tom Stephenson, later founded Rave Motion Pictures and most recently co-founded LOOK Cinemas.

It's certainly possible Hollywood had some Cinemark inbreeding (or vice-versa), but I haven't found it. I think there's confusion there because Cinemark has a few early Tinseltown multiplexes they branded Cinemark "Hollywood".
 

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Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 09-13-2015, 11:56 AM:
 
Some of the confusion may be due to Starplex building and opening the Hollywood 16 in Amarillo, Texas. This one would be acquired by Cinemark shortly after opening. This building was named Hollywood because it's next to Hollywood Road and I 27 in south Amarillo.
 

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Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 09-16-2015, 02:59 PM:
 
There was another company that took some of the Dickinsons, which was GQT - Goodrich Quality Theatres, which Dickinson reclaimed a few years later.
 

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Posted by Michael Riley (Member # 5693) on 12-17-2015, 10:09 AM:
 
https://www.amctheatres.com/starplex

The Starplex merger was approved and all theaters will transfer over to the AMC brand as of Mid-January. AMC has to dump two locations, Berlin Connecticut and East Windsor New Jersey.

Not sure what the reasoning is, since I am familiar with the Berlin CT location and it's a good 15 minutes or so from the AMC theater in Plainville CT and doesn't have any other competitive theaters nearby. My guess is they will probably close this location.

My favorite line from AMC's FAQ:

Will movie ticket prices change?
Ticket prices will not change as AMC takes ownership of Starplex Cinemas. However, just as all movie theatres do, we continuously evaluate the prices of movie tickets. Those prices can change when affected by a number of factors including: the amount studios charge for films, the cost of labor, the cost of utilities, the amenities offered in the theatre and overall demand.

My response
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 12-17-2015, 11:09 AM:
 
I'm going to laugh if AMC converts the Central Mall 12 theater here in Lawton to recliner seating. Most of the auditoriums are pretty small and the screen sizes are certainly small. The two biggest houses have 232 and 192 seats. The others range in capacity from 87 to 144. Because of the mall's low ceiling the rooms only have partial stadium seating. The first several rows are flat on the floor and the rest bump up on a not very tall stadium riser. I can't see a luxury recliner setup working out in there. That's why I hope they just build a new theater in downtown Lawton instead. They might even save money. Mall rent is expensive!
 

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Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 12-17-2015, 11:35 AM:
 

quote: Michael Riley

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Will movie ticket prices change?

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