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Author Topic: Theatres with a massive lobby Terry Lynn-Stevens Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1081 From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Registered: Dec 2012 posted 08-06-2013 09:49 AM                     I have attached a picture of a Cineplex Odeon theatre in the Toronto area that was the flagship when it opened in 1987. It boasted a lot of marble, two very long concession bars. There were nine theatres total and three were THX Certified and each of the THX theatres had 300 seats each. When Jurassic Park introduced DTS Digital, two of the cinemas the THX theatres and eventually SDDS was installed in the remaining THX cinema. The picture shows the one side of the lobby, that end had four cinemas and one THX theatre, the other side of the cinema was mirror of what the picture shows but it had one extra cinema that was behind the giant puzzle-painting of a tree. Anyone witness a theatre that had s bigger lobby than this one?  |  IP: Logged Chris Slycord Film God Posts: 2986 From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea Registered: Mar 2007 posted 08-07-2013 12:59 AM                     For the number of screens, no. But all the 16 and 24-screen theaters around have significantly larger lobbies and the 30-screen theater I worked at in Houston is definitely much, much bigger, especially if you include the two extra concession stands in the side wings as being part of the "lobby."  |  IP: Logged Mitchell Dvoskin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1869 From: West Milford, NJ, USA Registered: Jan 2001 posted 08-07-2013 10:11 AM                     This is a picture of the Landmark Loews Jersey inner lobby for a 1 screen theatre. There is also an outer lobby (not pictured).  |  IP: Logged Michael Coate Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1904 From: Los Angeles, California Registered: Feb 2001 posted 08-07-2013 10:42 AM                     quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens I have attached a picture of a Cineplex Odeon theatre in the Toronto area that was the flagship when it opened in 1987. Why the reluctance to identify this theater by name? quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens Anyone witness a theatre that had [a] bigger lobby than this one? Maybe. Most of the 1990s era megaplexes in Southern California built by Edwards (now Regal) had very large lobbies.  |  IP: Logged Richard Fowler Film God Posts: 2392 From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA Registered: Jun 2001 posted 08-07-2013 11:05 AM                     I saw one of the Edward Multiplex with a client and he noted that their lobby was the same size of one of his 7 plex theatres.... I went to a SXF multiplex in Bangkok, Thailand with a train station size lobby with several concessions, restaurants mix of VIP and large screens. All the auditoriums surrounded the lobby in a U shape with no hallways The next show group was seated in the lobby and an usher escorted them, in a tour guide fashion, to the auditorium.  |  IP: Logged Aaron Garman Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1470 From: Toledo, OH USA Registered: Mar 2003 posted 08-07-2013 03:00 PM                     The Uptown in Chicago certainly has a massive one: Oh if only it could get restored... AJG  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 08-07-2013 09:49 PM                     How are we defining "massive"? Does height matter? (Yeah it looks awesome, but the reason I'm asking is because height doesn't hold more people.)  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-07-2013 10:01 PM                        The AMC Pleasure Island 24 at Disney World has two big lobbies, one at each end. I don't know if things have changed there lately since they turned it into a "chew and view" a while ago.  |  IP: Logged Joe Elliott Master Film Handler Posts: 497 From: Port Orange, Fl USA Registered: Oct 2006 posted 08-16-2013 07:49 PM                     At the dine in side (east side), the lobby appears to have been taken up by the kitchen. There is not much of a lobby on that side anymore. Also Pleasure Island is slowly fading away. It is now called Downtown Disney, although one zone is still called Pleasure Island.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 08-17-2013 03:06 PM                     Santikos Palladium AVX multiplex in Richmond, TX (suburb west of Houston) has a pretty big lobby. The lobby has a variety of restaurants, a video game parlor and even a bowling alley. These huge lobbies with numerous restaurants and alternative forms of entertainment are pretty cool. But these giant multi-purpose lobbies are taking the focus away from why customers have come to the site in the first place: to watch a movie. When I visited this theater my girlfriend, Cynthia and I had only enough time to order some pizza and soft drinks before Star Trek: Into Darkness began. We didn't have extra hours of time to spend bowling or playing video games. We visited to watch a movie. While the visit to the lobby was impressive the actual presentation quality wasn't quite as good. The sound system had a significant problem: the center stage channel was on the fritz and we could hardly hear any dialog. This theater opened only a couple weeks prior to our visit. If only movie theater chains would put the kind of effort into their auditoriums as they do the lobby the movie going situation might be a lot better than what it is. By the way, the great GCC Northpark 1-2 theater I have been mentioning in other threads had a pretty unremarkable lobby. That twin theater's lobby was small. The real "wow" impact of that theater was felt by walking into the auditoriums, especially house #1. And then it was even more impressive once the show began. The GCC Northpark 1-2 was a theater whose priorities were in the correct order. I spend maybe 10 or 20 minutes tops in a theater lobby. I spend 2 hours in the auditorium. I would prefer theaters to put their money where I'm spending the most time. However, with talk of alternative content, Hollywood studios releasing ever more forgettable corporate controlled & designed movies, maybe this is a savvy move on the part of exhibitors. Diversify away from the auditoriums and have customers spend more time being entertained and fed in the lobby. Unfortunately they'll have to compete with all the other businesses elsewhere in town selling the same thing. And customers are still only going to visit a movie theater primarily to see a movie. They're not going to go there just to hang out in the lobby.  |  IP: Logged James Westbrook Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1133 From: Lubbock, Texas, Usa Registered: Mar 2006 posted 08-17-2013 04:34 PM                     Santiko's namesake Palladium in San Antonio is one of the states' largest grossing theaters. Makes me think they were trying to outdo the first one with this one, but yes, should have concentrated on the most important aspect: presentation. 2 weeks old and they had a center stage speaker not functioning properly? I hope someone in charge wasn't thinking "The customers won't notice that."  |  IP: Logged Sam Graham AKA: "The Evil Sam Graham". Wackiness ensues. Posts: 1431 From: Waukee, IA Registered: Dec 2004 posted 08-18-2013 09:52 AM                        Good LORD that's an ugly facade. I wonder how many people don't even realize it's a theater and think it's a Greek banquet facility.  |  IP: Logged Mark Hajducki Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 500 From: Edinburgh, UK Registered: May 2003 posted 08-18-2013 12:11 PM                     quote: Bobby Henderson The lobby has a variety of restaurants, a video game parlor and even a bowling alley. I would not regard that as being the cinema's lobby, instead being the lobby for a larger entertainment complex which caters to non-cinema customers. The main difference, in comparison with most entertainment complexes is having the different facilities owned by the same company. A large number of cinema lobbies seem to have been designed without thinking about how the customers will be managed (location of ticket check etc.). This often results in a large number of temporary barriers being used. This often spoils the impressiveness of the lobby. Many cinemas have a far narrower lobby than the main bulk of the building (containing the screens) with shops and other uses filling the gap. This is seen in sites built a century ago and proposed new builds.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 08-18-2013 02:04 PM                     I consider that big space the cinema's lobby. The ticket booth is at the front entrance. BTW, the Palladium AVX theater uses assigned seating. Thankfully customers can pick out which seats they want from a seating chart on displayed on a computer monitor. I'm under the impression Santikos runs all the various restaurants in the lobby, which doubles as a food court/entertainment area. This multi-purpose concept may not be entirely new, but it doesn't get away from its main problem: the customers are there primarily to see a movie. This kind of concept might work in an environment where people get to the theater on foot or use mass transit. And it might work better if the food & drink prices were more competitive with fast food restaurants outside the theater (they're selling what amounts to fast food inside). This Santikos location is way out on the far west side of the Houston metro, just off Grand Parkway (which when finished will be a more than 200 mile long 3rd loop superhighway around Houston). Customers are using their vehicles to get to the theater. They're probably going to eat somewhere else and then go to the movie theater. Of course, there are theaters that specialize in the dinner at the movies concept (such as the Studio Movie Grill theaters in the Dallas and Houston metros), but I think they're a little more competitive with the total cost of eating at a different restaurant and then going to a movie.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-18-2013 08:48 PM                        The front of that place looks more like it's a hotel or a convention center.  |  IP: Logged

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