Did Regent take some time off to reconsider their decision to market this theatre to the GLBT community? I’ve been to this place once (saw “The Sixth Sense” – and had my jaw pryed off the floor by the ushers as a result of the ENDING!) and, once they switched to GLBT programming, wondered if they were even packing full houses here.
At the end of the day, Mann’s decision to build a 6 screen theatre to accompany the crown jewel of movie theatres worldwide was not a smart one. I still think that the complex’s lack of screenage makes it a less-attractive option for booking a nice array of titles.
I beg to differ, Brad. Arclight/The Dome’s 15 screens is a definite advantage. If you open a blockbuster at Grauman’s and on 2-3 other screens at Chinese 6, that means that the whole theatre is practically booked. On the other hand, that same blockbuster can open at The Dome and 2-3 other screens at Arclight and you’ve still got 12 screens available for product.
Let’s look at the last 4 films to play at Grauman’s Chinese: “Harold & Kumar: Escape From Guantanamo Bay”, “Speed Racer”, “The Strangers” and “Get Smart”. Also opening during that same time period – but not at Grauman’s: “Iron Man”, “What Happens In Vegas”, “Narnia-Prince Caspian”, “Indy 4”, “Sex and the City”, “Kung Fu Panda”, “The Incredible Hulk”, “You Don’t Mess With The Zohan”, “The Love Guru”, “Wanted” and “Wall-E”…with “Hancock” coming up this week.
Every film on that list would need to run on 2-3 screens minimum on opening weekend. As I said, you execute that plan at Grauman’s/Chinese 6 and there’s no other room to fit anything else on the schedule. That’s not the studios' fault or even Arclight’s fault for that matter. That blame goes on Mann’s ownership who was obviously stuck in a 1980’s mindset when they foolishly thought that 6 screens was enough to support Grauman’s.
Oh yeah, the notorious Fine Arts – Land of Porno! Ooooh-wee! Even as a kid, I know the titles on the marquee were skanky!
Went inside this place 1 time to see a $1 show of “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” after whoever owned it at the time ditched the porn. I felt nasty all over just being inside the joint!
Working for McDonalds instead of Universal Studios Hollywood on bad advice from my mother.
Not giving my heart to my best friend from high school after she called me in college to tell me that she loved me and wanted us to be together.
Being born and raised in St. Louis, MO and NEVER, EVER SEEING A MOVIE IN THIS PLACE! Granted, I was only ¾ years old when this theatre stopped showing movies, but nevertheless. Can any of you St. Louis folks imagine STAR WARS in this theatre??? INSANE!
Off-topic, but where in the world did you cull info from the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Michael? I’ve been scouring the internet for years looking for old movie sections from the 70’s & 80’s via that newspaper to no avail!
As a little kid, there was always a sense of feeling “cool” whenever I knew I was gonna see a movie here – because they always showed the…um…EDGIER (translation: R-rated) flicks here. To this day, whenever I see a Pam Grier movie, I think of this place!
From my vantage point, looks like Mann is preparing to exit from the game altogether. They just ain’t got the mojo anymore. Hate to say it, but the facts are obvious. Wasn’t the smartest move in the world building only 6 screens to operate alongside Grauman’s vs. the 14 that Pacific/Arclight built alongside Arclight Hollywood. And, later on, taking on the Bevely Center 13 to run 2nd runs at 1st run prices?
Mann is officially a shell of their former selves. Cross your fingers and hope that AMC picks them up – cause if Regal does, Grauman’s is gonna get carved up like a cheap Tombstone pizza!
Mark, the house was roughly 50%-60% full on a Saturday night.
We took about 11 members of my 600 member film club to see it. My assistant event organizer – not knowing that Grauman’s seats 1400 – erroneously told the folks to get their tickets online when they actually could have walked up to the ticket booth, bought them on the spot and saved themselves a buck.
So, under J.Randell’s proposal, perhaps bringing in the wings to roughly 75-80 feet wide would do the trick. It could work. You’d still have the opulence of a ginormous screen minus the distortion issues that have the purists amongst us crying FOUL.
I’d take that website’s info with a grain of salt. For the bulk of the mid-2000’s, I practically lived at this theatre. I NEVER had any issues with actor/subtitle/credit cropping…at least not in the MAIN auditorium. As for the auditorium to the right of the main one, THAT’S A DIFFERENT STORY! ;o)
Saw it at the now demolished General Cinema South Bay #1 (the BIG single screen house) on the Sunday after it opened. At the time, DTS was THE LOUDEST sound system I’d ever heard – even dwarfing Dolby Digital (which I first experienced the previous summer when “Batman Returns” opened at Grauman’s Chinese). The sound blew me away that I went back to see JP multiple times to see if other theatres were just as loud.
Leave LA out of it. We have Grauman’s Chinese, The Cinerama Dome, Mann’s Village in Westwood and a host of other silver screen palaces. Cinemark’s theatres are built for the suburbs – not for REAL MOVIE FANS!
I’m already doing this – with both current AND classic/avant-garde films:
http://movies.meetup.com/348
http://classicfilms.meetup.com/75
Thanks, Mike.
Did Regent take some time off to reconsider their decision to market this theatre to the GLBT community? I’ve been to this place once (saw “The Sixth Sense” – and had my jaw pryed off the floor by the ushers as a result of the ENDING!) and, once they switched to GLBT programming, wondered if they were even packing full houses here.
At the end of the day, Mann’s decision to build a 6 screen theatre to accompany the crown jewel of movie theatres worldwide was not a smart one. I still think that the complex’s lack of screenage makes it a less-attractive option for booking a nice array of titles.
I beg to differ, Brad. Arclight/The Dome’s 15 screens is a definite advantage. If you open a blockbuster at Grauman’s and on 2-3 other screens at Chinese 6, that means that the whole theatre is practically booked. On the other hand, that same blockbuster can open at The Dome and 2-3 other screens at Arclight and you’ve still got 12 screens available for product.
Let’s look at the last 4 films to play at Grauman’s Chinese: “Harold & Kumar: Escape From Guantanamo Bay”, “Speed Racer”, “The Strangers” and “Get Smart”. Also opening during that same time period – but not at Grauman’s: “Iron Man”, “What Happens In Vegas”, “Narnia-Prince Caspian”, “Indy 4”, “Sex and the City”, “Kung Fu Panda”, “The Incredible Hulk”, “You Don’t Mess With The Zohan”, “The Love Guru”, “Wanted” and “Wall-E”…with “Hancock” coming up this week.
Every film on that list would need to run on 2-3 screens minimum on opening weekend. As I said, you execute that plan at Grauman’s/Chinese 6 and there’s no other room to fit anything else on the schedule. That’s not the studios' fault or even Arclight’s fault for that matter. That blame goes on Mann’s ownership who was obviously stuck in a 1980’s mindset when they foolishly thought that 6 screens was enough to support Grauman’s.
Oh yeah, the notorious Fine Arts – Land of Porno! Ooooh-wee! Even as a kid, I know the titles on the marquee were skanky!
Went inside this place 1 time to see a $1 show of “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” after whoever owned it at the time ditched the porn. I felt nasty all over just being inside the joint!
Another St. Louis area theatre that I’ve driven past a zillion times but never gone inside.
Another theatre that I’ve been PAST a million times but never gone inside. Next time I go home to St. Louis, I’m finally going INSIDE!
JAlex, where did you get your info for this (and all the other) St. Louis theatres?
Drove past the place a zillion times…never went inside.
Regrets:
Working for McDonalds instead of Universal Studios Hollywood on bad advice from my mother.
Not giving my heart to my best friend from high school after she called me in college to tell me that she loved me and wanted us to be together.
Being born and raised in St. Louis, MO and NEVER, EVER SEEING A MOVIE IN THIS PLACE! Granted, I was only ¾ years old when this theatre stopped showing movies, but nevertheless. Can any of you St. Louis folks imagine STAR WARS in this theatre??? INSANE!
Off-topic, but where in the world did you cull info from the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Michael? I’ve been scouring the internet for years looking for old movie sections from the 70’s & 80’s via that newspaper to no avail!
Another theatre that I practically “lived” in during the 70’s & 80’s. First movie I remember seeing here was “Car Wash” (of all things!).
As a little kid, there was always a sense of feeling “cool” whenever I knew I was gonna see a movie here – because they always showed the…um…EDGIER (translation: R-rated) flicks here. To this day, whenever I see a Pam Grier movie, I think of this place!
Saw tons of Disney and other cartoons here as a preschooler/kindergartner during the 1970’s. I remember the place was BIG…but that’s all I remember.
“What exactly is Mann doing?”
From my vantage point, looks like Mann is preparing to exit from the game altogether. They just ain’t got the mojo anymore. Hate to say it, but the facts are obvious. Wasn’t the smartest move in the world building only 6 screens to operate alongside Grauman’s vs. the 14 that Pacific/Arclight built alongside Arclight Hollywood. And, later on, taking on the Bevely Center 13 to run 2nd runs at 1st run prices?
Mann is officially a shell of their former selves. Cross your fingers and hope that AMC picks them up – cause if Regal does, Grauman’s is gonna get carved up like a cheap Tombstone pizza!
Mark, the house was roughly 50%-60% full on a Saturday night.
We took about 11 members of my 600 member film club to see it. My assistant event organizer – not knowing that Grauman’s seats 1400 – erroneously told the folks to get their tickets online when they actually could have walked up to the ticket booth, bought them on the spot and saved themselves a buck.
So, under J.Randell’s proposal, perhaps bringing in the wings to roughly 75-80 feet wide would do the trick. It could work. You’d still have the opulence of a ginormous screen minus the distortion issues that have the purists amongst us crying FOUL.
Rizzo, y'all willing to give this a try?
The Dome should be a lobby instead of a working auditorium???
I just threw up in my mouth…
I’d take that website’s info with a grain of salt. For the bulk of the mid-2000’s, I practically lived at this theatre. I NEVER had any issues with actor/subtitle/credit cropping…at least not in the MAIN auditorium. As for the auditorium to the right of the main one, THAT’S A DIFFERENT STORY! ;o)
Saw “Get Smart” here on 6/21/08. Curtains did indeed close after the (STUPID!) Screenvision pre-show and open before the the trailers.
Saw it at the now demolished General Cinema South Bay #1 (the BIG single screen house) on the Sunday after it opened. At the time, DTS was THE LOUDEST sound system I’d ever heard – even dwarfing Dolby Digital (which I first experienced the previous summer when “Batman Returns” opened at Grauman’s Chinese). The sound blew me away that I went back to see JP multiple times to see if other theatres were just as loud.
Very informative, Scott!
Leave LA out of it. We have Grauman’s Chinese, The Cinerama Dome, Mann’s Village in Westwood and a host of other silver screen palaces. Cinemark’s theatres are built for the suburbs – not for REAL MOVIE FANS!
“The newer AMCs seem to have taller and wider screens…”
…with TOP & BOTTOM MASKING that causes those screens to SHRINK RIGHT BEFORE YOUR VERY EYES whenever a 2:35 film is projected on them. Yuk!