Regal Majestic 20

900 Ellsworth Drive,
Silver Spring, MD 20910

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Showing 26 - 44 of 44 comments

JodarMovieFan
JodarMovieFan on November 9, 2010 at 4:37 pm

I thought Regal had an alternative to the IMAX-lite format that AMC uses. At least that is what I thought the E-Walk has. I suppose they are converting a theater, as opposed to actually extending the plex? If they book Tron here, it may be worth checking out, but I may want to see it at a real IMAX theater.

tmundell
tmundell on March 2, 2010 at 10:58 am

The Majestic’s screens are mixed; some rooms have side masking and some rooms have top masking. #20 is the largest room (about 465 seats) with side masking and #1 the next largest (about 435 seats) with top masking.

14 is not the smallest room, I know #12 is a little smaller (with about 98 seats; not sure if it is the smallest, but it’s the smallest room I’ve been in so far…)

The sound at the Majestic does tend to be unimpressive; better than some theaters I’ve been to, but not one of my favorites.

DennisBenjamin
DennisBenjamin on March 1, 2010 at 1:28 pm

Giles –

This month we are having auditorium #1 converted to Digital over at the Royale. They are having to use a Barco projector (instead of the typical Sony) because the screen is so wide. 1.85 Looks good in 1 & 14 here.

Majestic, Kingstowne (in Alexandria), Fox 16 in Ashburn, and the Royale are all originally Consolidated Theatres. No up and down masking at any of the locations (as far as I know).

Giles
Giles on January 28, 2010 at 8:28 pm

really? that’s really wide – however, how would a 1.85 film look? I’m definately going to see ‘Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland’ at the Majestic since it’s a non-scope film and it would take up more of the whole wall (with no screen ‘top and bottom’ decreasing)

CinemarkFan – you asked about theatres that do side masking – i.e, extending the screen’s sides – I saw ‘Avatar 3D’ again at Mazza and the screens opens horizontally to reveal a scope (2.35) film

DennisBenjamin
DennisBenjamin on January 28, 2010 at 7:02 pm

As far as a previous post in this section: Auditoriums 1 & 14 at the Royale 14 in Hyattsville have the largest screens in PG County. In scope – over 60 wide (measured it myself). And yes- there is side masking!

JodarMovieFan
JodarMovieFan on January 22, 2010 at 8:59 pm

Usually after a bad experience, I do not return. I made an exception this time as this theater had the only booking and showing of the movie “Precious” and would be exiting this market for the time being. I attended the last showing this past Thu 1/21, in Auditorium 14, which presumably, is the smallest of the 20. The screen was decent sized and had stereo surrounds but as in original post, the sound is muffled. As I write this, I am not sure if it detracted from my enjoyment of the movie, which is a mixed bag. If you park in the garage, there is no free or reduced parking fees during the day.

I usually do not purchase movie concession food, especially at the movie chains because of the exorbitant prices, but since I had my elderly Dad in tow, he was cranky and hungry. Surprisingly, the pizza ordered was quite good and made fresh for me. With my Regal points, I received free popcorn, which was okay. I wished all the Regals had popcorn flavorings other than that oily glop they try to pass for butter. Not being much of a coffee drinker, I asked the cashier (who was very friendly) to explain the difference between a latte and cappucino, which she tried to explain. I ended up ordering the latte as it seemed to have more coffee in it, but was not worth the $3.50. So if you MUST order hot food..get the pizza, or the free popcorn, if your points allow for it.

It seems #1 and #2 are the digital theaters. I’m thinking I saw “Day After Tomorrow” in #1 when this place opened.

KingBiscuits
KingBiscuits on September 19, 2009 at 8:42 am

I’ve read that this place is known to be a rattrap and last year, the place was briefly shut down due to the rodent problems.

Looks like that this is one more place to avoid.

CinemarkFan
CinemarkFan on July 14, 2009 at 11:59 am

SDS is Super Dimension 70, a new 70mm format which operates at 48fps and presents each frame rate twice at a display rate of 96 images per-second. It wouldn’t cost much at all to project. A 4k digital projector costs about 150-200 grand. With SDS-70, the theater/distributor would be leasing the projector, which would be paid for via the admissions sold.

Yes, 70mm has a ratio of 2.20: 1. But if the screen had side-masking for a 2.35: 1 presentation, 70mm masking would be no problem. But alas, this place features the top/bottom masking that makes it look like you’ve paid $10 to see a DVD.

Granted, major studios themselves won’t get off the digital tit to make 70mm. This would have to come from a filmmaker with the clout to do whatever he/she wants. I’ve seen a demo of this new system, and it puts digital anything to shame. Will digital become like 35mm? You bet. Will it top 70mm? Not until I am old and grey.

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on July 14, 2009 at 11:18 am

I love the exterior of this theater.

I thought 70 MM requires yet a different ratio, 2.20
Would it be so hard to reconfigure masking?

I’m not sure what SDS means? but I don’t see studios again shipping out new movies in 70mm film. Might as well wish for all movies to be presented in movie palaces again. Best we can hope for is when digital reaches the equivalent standard.

CinemarkFan
CinemarkFan on July 14, 2009 at 10:53 am

Thanks for the info Giles. I’m currently doing a study on modern multiplex screens that could show a 70mm or SDS-70mm presentation on one of the screens. Looks like I’ll have to exclude the Majestic from the list.

Are there any other multiplexes nearby that has side-masking?

Giles
Giles on July 12, 2009 at 8:39 am

side masking – ummm I don’t think so. For Ice Age 3 which has a 1.85 aspect ratio, the image took up most of the massive wall (i.e, the screen). I’d think that with a scope 2.35 film the masking would come down from the top and bottom.

CinemarkFan
CinemarkFan on July 11, 2009 at 8:31 pm

Does the large screen have side-masking? I’m curious.

Giles
Giles on July 11, 2009 at 7:59 pm

in terms of screen size on Auditorium #1, it appears to be one of the largest in the immediate DC/MD/VA area – although Cinema De Lux in Fairfax and AMC Georgetown screens are also in the running in that respect. The presentation of ‘Ice Age 3’ (3D) looked and sounded fantastic

Giles
Giles on July 1, 2009 at 6:18 pm

as of July 1st (2009) there are now two 3D systems, a brand new one for ‘Ice Age 3D’ (a Sony 4K unit) in auditorium #1, the prior system which is not a Sony system.

MovieTix86
MovieTix86 on February 24, 2009 at 8:10 pm

Looks like the 3D system debuted earlier than originally planned as Fandango has Coraline 3D listed until Friday. The theater was not listed in Regal’s press release for Coraline 3D but was listed for the Jonas Brothers 3D Concert.

Giles
Giles on February 23, 2009 at 8:24 am

according to Fandango, the theatre’s debuting it’s 3D system this Friday with the Jonas Brother’s Concert film.

JodarMovieFan
JodarMovieFan on June 22, 2008 at 12:55 am

I saw Day After Tomorrow here when this megaplex opened in 2004. Back then, one was greeted as upon entrance to the theater. You take an escalator that ascends to the top floor where the theaters are. There is a nice view of downtown Silver Spring from the top. The presentation was disappointing from a sound perspective. The picture was large and there is stadium seating. I have not been here since, nor have plans to come back. The opening of this place doomed the AMC City Place 10 next door, which closed shortly after. Now that Regal has taken over, I’m sure things will probably get worse.

Giles
Giles on June 9, 2008 at 11:18 am

Recently saw in the Washington Post that the theatre has switched hands over to being a Regal now. Maybe now we’ll see some of the larger screens there being converted to digital projection.