Emulating movie palaces gets lots of hype but does little as far as drawing customers.
Muvico banned “Fahrenheit 9/11” for political reasons; the company’s chairman admires George W. Bush and gave big money to the Bush re-election campaign.
The “cinema de lux” theaters run by National Amusements are shockingly ultra-mainstream. Try finding a “cinema de lux” that has more than token upmarket/art product.
The combined AMC-Loews chain would be 2nd largest in the US after Regal. Head offices and film buying would be in Kansas City — where AMC has its head office.
I see the Loews E-Walk in Times Square being spun off if/when the merger goes through. Although the Loews E-Walk and AMC Empire are across the street from each other, the 25-screen Empire would be the more logical fit. AMC opened the Empire at a time when Loews was not playing 20th Century Fox titles in Manhattan. Also, the Empire is more willing than the E-Walk to play upmarket/art product.
Cineplex is buying Famous Players from Viacom for CDN$500 million. As a condition of the sale Cineplex will have to spin off theatres in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa and 13 other cities.
The acquisition is expected to be official in the summer. Once that happens Famous Players — a household name in Canada for years — will likely be no more. Last year Famous Players turned over its theatres in Atlantic Canada to Maritime chain Empire Theatres.
The Amboy Multiplex closed without notice May 25 but most people didn’t find out until the start of a big moviegoing weekend (Memorial Day). By then the theater had already been removed from the National Amusements website.
Jerry is correct when he said there were “many other factors” involved. Construction for 3 nearby bridges made it more difficult to get to the theater. Also, the Loews megaplex at Jersey Gardens in Elizabeth attracted a lot of people who used to go to the Amboy Multiplex.
If you can’t read beyond the first paragraph it’s because the New York Post website is now “Registration Required”. There should have been an advisory for that.
The Beekman was at 2nd Avenue and 65TH Street. To make up for losing the Beekman, Clearview Cinemas has taken over the New York One Two at 2nd Avenue and 66th Street.
The New York One Two was originally the Loews New York Twin; Crown Theatres reopened it a year or so ago and ran it until Clearview took it over.
There are two major factors which the Voice and New York didn’t bring up:
(1) From what I read, the IFC Center will not have stadium seating. If you’re rebuilding a theater these days and don’t install stadium seating you won’t make money. The arthouse crowd is only now acknowledging this.
(2) The IFC Center will have much more competition than the Lower Manhattan arthouses. This Friday, the Regal Cinemas at Union Square opens “Heights” while the Sunshine Cinema on Houston Street picks up “Howl’s Moving Castle”.
Emulating movie palaces gets lots of hype but does little as far as drawing customers.
Muvico banned “Fahrenheit 9/11” for political reasons; the company’s chairman admires George W. Bush and gave big money to the Bush re-election campaign.
The “cinema de lux” theaters run by National Amusements are shockingly ultra-mainstream. Try finding a “cinema de lux” that has more than token upmarket/art product.
The combined AMC-Loews chain would be 2nd largest in the US after Regal. Head offices and film buying would be in Kansas City — where AMC has its head office.
I see the Loews E-Walk in Times Square being spun off if/when the merger goes through. Although the Loews E-Walk and AMC Empire are across the street from each other, the 25-screen Empire would be the more logical fit. AMC opened the Empire at a time when Loews was not playing 20th Century Fox titles in Manhattan. Also, the Empire is more willing than the E-Walk to play upmarket/art product.
Cineplex is buying Famous Players from Viacom for CDN$500 million. As a condition of the sale Cineplex will have to spin off theatres in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa and 13 other cities.
The acquisition is expected to be official in the summer. Once that happens Famous Players — a household name in Canada for years — will likely be no more. Last year Famous Players turned over its theatres in Atlantic Canada to Maritime chain Empire Theatres.
The Amboy Multiplex closed without notice May 25 but most people didn’t find out until the start of a big moviegoing weekend (Memorial Day). By then the theater had already been removed from the National Amusements website.
Jerry is correct when he said there were “many other factors” involved. Construction for 3 nearby bridges made it more difficult to get to the theater. Also, the Loews megaplex at Jersey Gardens in Elizabeth attracted a lot of people who used to go to the Amboy Multiplex.
If you can’t read beyond the first paragraph it’s because the New York Post website is now “Registration Required”. There should have been an advisory for that.
The Beekman was at 2nd Avenue and 65TH Street. To make up for losing the Beekman, Clearview Cinemas has taken over the New York One Two at 2nd Avenue and 66th Street.
The New York One Two was originally the Loews New York Twin; Crown Theatres reopened it a year or so ago and ran it until Clearview took it over.
There are two major factors which the Voice and New York didn’t bring up:
(1) From what I read, the IFC Center will not have stadium seating. If you’re rebuilding a theater these days and don’t install stadium seating you won’t make money. The arthouse crowd is only now acknowledging this.
(2) The IFC Center will have much more competition than the Lower Manhattan arthouses. This Friday, the Regal Cinemas at Union Square opens “Heights” while the Sunshine Cinema on Houston Street picks up “Howl’s Moving Castle”.