What's the latest theatre to close or open you have heard about?

[Martin Brooks]

The Regal Tangram 4DX 7 is opening on November 12th in a new mixed use Condo / Retail development in Flushing, Queens on 37th Avenue off of College Point Blvd. after a long delay. 7 screens including 1 4DX screen, total of 849 seats (not including wheelchair seats, but including wheelchair companion seats). Screen #3 is the largest auditorium with 157 seats. From November 12-17th, tickets are only $3.

Considering the neighborhood, they really should be dedicating at least one screen to Chinese films.

That brings the total number of commercial theaters in Queens to 12 with 95 screens and about 10,400 seats for a population of about 2.33 million in the borough and 179,000 within Flushing itself.

[Steve Guttag]

Warehouse Cinemas Leitersburg is opening tomorrow (10/29/21). This is the same site, same building as the Leitersburg 10 cinemas that was run by NewVision, High Rock, RC Cinemas and others previously.

They put the Warehouse Cinemas anointments to the space and are updating it in phases. Phase 1 got the 8 smaller cinemas renovated with heated recliners, with the interior of the cinemas getting a whole new look, new screens. Phase 2 will concentrate on the two larger cinemas...which should happen in early 2022.

https://warehousecinemas.com/leitersburg

[Mitchell Dvoskin]

In the Alamo Yonkers location, the dim lights under the table bothered me a lot less than the waiters walking back and forth blocking the screen.

The best dine-in theatre design I have encountered for not interfering with the movie is the iPic Cinemas (Fort Lee NJ) and back in the late 1980’s The Cinema Pub in Virginia Beach (Is it still there?).

[Martin Brooks]

598 seats divided between 14 screens? That works out to roughly 42 to 43 seats per auditorium. Freaking tiny. The IMAX-branded screen at our local 13-plex here in Lawton has nearly that many seats in just that one big room.

Given the location, Lower Manhattan, I would expect ticket prices to be appropriately ridiculous.

It's also interesting to see two different private equity companies have helped dig Alamo Drafthouse out of bankruptcy. There is not telling how that will work out since getting in bed with bean-counting firms like that can be akin to selling your soul to the devil.

Theater #7 is 184 seats. All the others are small. In their Brooklyn theater, screen #7 is 183 seats and has a pretty large screen and is a very nice auditorium EXCEPT for the fact that there are lights under the tables (for eating) and they're kept on for the entire film which bugged the hell out of me. I don't know if the screen in the Manhattan theater is the same size.

[Mike Croaro]

Landmark Theatres has lost their lease on the California Theatre in Berkeley. The following link leads to the article.

https://www.dailycal.org/2021/10/24/...lease-renewal/

[Bobby Henderson]

Here in Lawton, OK the AMC Patriot 13 theater, our only first run theater, was temporarily closed on Saturday, apparently due to a broken water pipe. I had seat reservations to watch Dune on the IMAX-branded screen at the first show Saturday at 4:15pm. The theater was still running a limited number of showtimes. When I arrived at the theater some customers were talking to each other in the front parking lot. Staffers at the entrance laid out the situation: theater closed. No telling when it will re-open. I don't know how bad the situation may be, but one person in the parking lot was talking about the building foundation shifting. If that detail is true this theater will be closed for a long time, or maybe even permanently if the damage is bad enough. AMC seems to be looking for any excuses to close down former Carmike locations. The Patriot 13 is still a relatively new multiplex, but given the limited show time schedule, it wouldn't surprise me if AMC unloaded that site off its hands.

[Martin McCaffery]

Alamo has been counting beans for ages. I remember at a conference they were explaining some software they had that kept constant track of the employee to customer ratio. If the ratio was too high, people were sent home. I don't know if they were called back in if the ratio dropped.

[Bobby Henderson]

Starting on Oct. 18, customers will be able to visit the Alamo Drafthouse Lower Manhattan to get their fix of popcorn, buffalo cauliflower and beer while watching the latest blockbuster unfold on the big screen. The soft launch period will run through Oct. 21, a time during which guests will receive special discounts on select food and non-alcoholic beverages while staff members train and find their bearings. Located in the Financial District at 28 Liberty Street, the 14-screen multiplex and 598-seat theater is the company’s third New York-based operation following Yonkers and Brooklyn.

598 seats divided between 14 screens? That works out to roughly 42 to 43 seats per auditorium. Freaking tiny. The IMAX-branded screen at our local 13-plex here in Lawton has nearly that many seats in just that one big room.

Given the location, Lower Manhattan, I would expect ticket prices to be appropriately ridiculous.

It's also interesting to see two different private equity companies have helped dig Alamo Drafthouse out of bankruptcy. There is not telling how that will work out since getting in bed with bean-counting firms like that can be akin to selling your soul to the devil.

[Frank Cox]

https://www.sasktoday.ca/central/loc...g-soon-4526706

Tower Theatre re-opening soon
New ownership upgrading facility
YORKTON - Movie fans will be happy to learn the Tower Theatre in Yorkton will be re-opening.

Under new management – Magic Lantern Theatres -- significant upgrades are currently taking place at the theatre on Second Ave. in the city which closed its doors earlier this year.

“We’re restoring the original building,” Katrina Chapman, operations supervisor on the project explained.

As for how the theatre will operate, Chapman said there “will be no major changes” at least for the initial opening.

The theatre will open with one screen, but Chapman said the new ownership has interest “in a bigger expansion in the next year, or two . . .There is an eye to expansion with additional screens.”

The theatre will be maintaining its familiar name.

“The name has such history, why would we change it,” said Chapman.

In the meantime, theatre goers will be able to enjoy some improved aesthetics including upgraded seats which will include slider seats.

Current work toward opening before December, also includes upgraded sound.

“We’ve upgraded the speakers,” said Chapman.

And, there will be an improved concession area, offered Chapman.

As for what they plan to screen, Chapman said they will be looking to new releases, but added “you’re not going to see every movie with one screen,” and movies might not open locally the day of the release.

“But we’ll try to mitigate that the best we can,” she said.

The company that is doing the work now owns 11 theatres, including the Rainbow in Regina, the Capital in North Battleford, the Aurora in Meadow Lake and the Roxy in Saskatoon.

“We’re really good at this. We serve a lot of rural communities,” said Chapman. “. . .We believe in community management. We want to have a theatre you can be proud of, both us and the community.

This is the "next theatre down the road" from me. It was previously owned by Landmark Cinemas of Canada (the second biggest chain in Canada). Landmark closed it "temporarily" last year and then announced that it was permanently closed this past spring.

[Martin McCaffery]

Variety

Alamo Drafthouse Finally Announces Opening for Long-Delayed Manhattan Location (EXCLUSIVE)

By Rebecca Rubin
Plus Icon
Alamo Drafthouse Variety Cover Story
Ian Allen for Variety
Alamo Drafthouse, the movie theater du jour of cinephiles, is finally ready to open the doors to its first Manhattan location.

Starting on Oct. 18, customers will be able to visit the Alamo Drafthouse Lower Manhattan to get their fix of popcorn, buffalo cauliflower and beer while watching the latest blockbuster unfold on the big screen. The soft launch period will run through Oct. 21, a time during which guests will receive special discounts on select food and non-alcoholic beverages while staff members train and find their bearings. Located in the Financial District at 28 Liberty Street, the 14-screen multiplex and 598-seat theater is the company’s third New York-based operation following Yonkers and Brooklyn.


“The last 18 months have been a rollercoaster for our industry, but through it all we’ve believed in the future of this industry,” says Alamo Drafthouse CEO Shelli Taylor. “Opening our Lower Manhattan theater is an expression of our belief that audiences will always seek elevated, communal moviegoing experiences like ours.”

It has been an especially turbulent period for Alamo Drafthouse, which struggled to recover from COVID-19 closures and filed for bankruptcy. Through a sale to Altamont Capital Partners, Fortress Investment Group LLC and Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League, the Texas-based company that’s known for its dine-in service and anti-texting stance was able to emerge from its Chapter 11 process. Alamo Drafthouse Lower Manhattan will kick off a string of new Alamo Drafthouse locations due later this year or in 2022 in Staten Island, St. Louis and Washington D.C.

Alamo Drafthouse’s Manhattan debut comes as movie theaters across the country are finally starting to see a meaningful uptick in attendance. Hollywood has welcomed several hits in the last few weeks, including Marvel’s superhero adventure “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” Sony’s comic book adaptation “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” and MGM’s James Bond sequel “No Time to Die.” The hope is that Universal’s thriller “Halloween Kills,” Warner Bros.’ “Dune” remake, Wes Anderson’s comedic drama “The French Dispatch” and Marvel’s “Eternals” will continue the surge in moviegoing and end a dreary 2021 on a high note.

Drafthouse won’t rely on blockbusters alone to draw crowds though. The new location will be home to The Press Room, which is a museum, letterpress print show, bar and private event space. The all-in-one area is unique to the Manhattan location and will display sections from a vast archive of more than 60,000 letterpress film advertising plates spanning the 1930’s through the 1980’s. For those looking to get crafty, the Press Room’s 1938 Vandercook letterpress will be inked and ready to go for special screenings with limited edition greeting cards, private events and classes for those daring enough to learn the art of letterpress printing.

If manual labor isn’t your thing, or if perhaps all that letterpressing has left you parched, the Press Room will be fully stocked with wines and spirits, including a tap wall of 48 draft beers, as well as the option to customize a bespoke cocktail.


“The Press Room bar’s archive of over 60,000 vintage newspaper movie ad plates spans the history of 20th century cinema, and is a testament to Alamo Drafthouse’s ongoing commitment to making moviegoing a truly special experience,” League said.

Alamo Drafthouse is also crafting a film series that pays tribute to the city that never sleeps. The program, curated with movies from the past century set in and about New York City, begins on Oct. 15 with “Speedy,” “King Kong” and “On the Town.” It continues with “Rear Window,” “Barefoot in the Park” and “Putney Swope” on Oct 22; “God Told Me To,” “Smithereens,” “Ghostbusters” and “The Addiction” on Oct. 29; and “Inside Man,” “Good Time” and “Shiva Baby” on Nov. 15.

Additionally, on Nov. 3rd, Alamo Drafthouse Lower Manhattan will participate in the company’s “Godzilla Day,” with plans to exclusively premiere Toho’s new 4K restoration of Godzilla’s 1954 debut film “Gojira.” Over the holidays, Alamo Drafthouse has signature holiday programming in store, commencing with “Elf,” “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” “Love Actually,” “Meet Me in St. Louis” and other seasonal favorites.

Though Alamo Drafthouse’s profile is rising, the movie theater chain isn’t losing sight of its scrappy roots. “We’re undeniably a chain,” League told Variety in a recent cover story. “But the idea was to expand and not feel like a chain but more like a loose network of neighborhood and community theaters that have some oversight to make sure that we’re all marching in the same direction.”

[Martin McCaffery]

Cinemagic Theatres in Athens, AL. Not gone yet, but...
https://www.al.com/business/2021/10/...-for-sale.html

Alabama drive-in movie theater up for sale

By Matt Wake | mwake@al.com
Published: 7:07 a.m.Cinemagic Theatre drive-in in Athens, Ala. (Courtesy Cinemagic Theatre)

After 38 years, Ralph Freehaus is ready to roll credits on his career in the movie theater business. “I think it’s time for me to retire and let the internet experts take over for me,” says Freehaus, who owns Cinemagic Theatre in Athens. He tells AL.com he put Cinemagic up for sale about a week ago.

The Cinemagic parcel is about four acres. It includes a single drive-in screen with drive-in capacity for around 80 automobiles, as well as an indoor theater with five screens, 722 seats and roof-mounted solar panels that provide about 25 percent of the theater’s electricity. The asking price is $1. 75 million.

“We haven’t shut the business down,” Freehaus says. “The business is still going and will continue to keep going, and hopefully I can sell to someone that wants to take over showing movies from me.” Before founding Cinemagic with wife Carline Freehaus, who managed the drive-in before retiring a while back, Ralph worked at several different movie theaters in Huntsville and Decatur.

Cinemagic opened in 1997 as a single-screen drive-in. “Jurassic Park” sequel “The Lost World” was the first film shown there. A year later, Freehaus added a second, smaller drive-in screen after the latest “Godzilla” reboot bombed but Cinemagic had committed to running “Godzilla” for several weeks. Freehaus wanted to prevent any future duds from tanking the theater’s entire box-office ever again. The smaller second screen was removed a few years later. An indoor theater was built and then opened in 2006.

Over the years, Freehaus has seen a few movie-worthy moments occur in real-life at his drive-in. People trying to sneak-in other people hidden under blankets in the backseat. People trying to sneak beer in. Naked people in cars. “We find a lot of empty beverage cans on the ground after the movies are over,” Freehaus says.

Recent films shown at the drive-in include “Black Widow,” “Jungle Cruise” and “Paw Patrol: The Movie.” Cinemagic welcomes around 100,000 customers each year and employs a staff of five, Freehaus says. “I still enjoy standing in the lobby as the movie gets out, and watching the people with smiles on their faces, and hearing the discussions about the movie they just saw. I entertain people with movies. It doesn’t get much better than that.” His personal all-time favorite films include 1991 music drama “The Commitments” and 1987 fantasy comedy “The Princess Bride.”

In retirement, Freehaus, who is 74-years-old, plans on taking his 1964 Chevrolet Impala to car shows. He and Carlene also want to travel to the last four U.S. states they’ve yet to both visit: Oregon, Washington, Rhode Island and Alaska.

Asked if at-home streaming and the ongoing pandemic, two Death Star-sized challenges the movie industry is facing, influenced his decision to sell Cinemagic, Freehaus says no. “But it’s going to require some more modifications, and so we need a younger person to take over now and adjust with the flow.”

[Mike Rivest]

World’s largest IMAX opened in time for the new 007 film in suburban Stuttgart

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/66034

it’s 125 feet wide!

[Scott Jentsch]

The latest updates:

North Platte, NE: Golden Ticket Cinemas - Platte River 6 Now Open [Sep 3, 2021]

Los Angeles, CA: AMC Reopens Former Pacific Theatres at The Grove [Aug 26, 2021]

New Braunfels, TX: Santikos New Braunfels Opens in Former Alamo Drafthouse Location [Aug 23, 2021]

Chicago, IL: Cinema Chatham Powered by Emagine Now Open [Aug 20, 2021]

Parsippany, NJ: Cinepolis Parsippany Closed Permanently [Aug 16, 2021]

Eugene, OR: Bijou Art Cinemas Closed Permanently [Aug 3, 2021]

Tampa, FL: Studio Movie Grill - Tampa Closed [Aug 2, 2021]

Harrisburg, PA: Regal Harrisburg Mall Stadium 14 Closed [Aug 2, 2021]

[Martin Brooks]

There's that word again, and about the Cinerama Dome, no less.

I remember that in 1996 Disney paid Pacific to install a temporary 'scope aspect ratio flat screen in the Dome for the premiere of Evita, because neither the director, or the cinematographer, or Madonna wanted the picture to play on the 80' curved main house screen because of the soft focus, horizon sag and distortion. In their eyes, their film was shown properly, but it didn't stop a shit-fit from happening in Widegauge Magazine (which I of course helped to fuel [Vol. 10, Issue 13, page 4]) over the curtains being closed and the main screen not being used, because it was the historic Cinerama freakin' Dome for chrissakes. The whole thing went to show that when it comes to historic theaters, one person's proper projection is another person's sacrilege.

As a place to see an original three-strip Cinerama production the Dome can't be beat. But for everything else, the projection there has never been anything to brag about. I haven't been in years, but in the film era it was a somewhat dim and not very sharply focused picture, albeit a big one.

Sometime in the 90's, I was there to see a revival of Lawrence of Arabia and not only did I experience the curved screen distortion, but due to the round building, there was slap back echo. So while I love that theater and do hope it reopens, it's not the ideal presentation experience, although I suppose the large screen is more important than the distortion at the sides to many. I don't remember the image being dim or soft. Given a choice of the Dome or a typical theater today with 100 seats and a 30' screen, I'd still opt for the Dome (if I was in L.A.).

According to some film historians, Michael Todd left the employ of Cinerama and formed Todd-AO because he was upset with the horizon sag and vertical lines separating the screen panels of 3-strip Cinerama.

[Geoff Jones]

how did Regal screw it up

They removed a magnificent 78-foot-wide deeply curved D-150 screen that put you in the movie and replaced it with a much smaller screen.

They removed their high-resolution 35mm and 70MM film projectors and replaced them with 2k digital projectors (Have they upgraded to 4K since then? There's no actual confirmation at Regal's website).

They took a beautifully-sloped auditorium with prefect sight lines and replaced it with an awkward echo-y stadium. Now, if you want to sit close enough for the screen to actually fill your field of vision, you have crane your neck up instead of looking forward. And of course, as with all stadium auditoriums, the seats in the center are now gone, replaced by big wide row for people to walk through.

except maybe the IMAX at Colorado Center

Last I heard (many years ago), they'd removed the IMAX projectors at Colorado Center and replaced them with 2k LieMax. Have they since upgraded to 4K laser? Regal's website doesn't say one way or another and Imax's website lists it as "Imax 2D," (i.e. 2k) and not "Imax with Laser" (i.e. 4k).

The last (and only) movie I've seen in 2k LieMax (in 2012) was on a much smaller screen than the one at Colorado Center (unless they have since downgraded their screen), and even so, it was still like watching a movie through a screen door...