Columbia Place Cinemas 8
7201-802 Two Notch Road,
Columbia,
SC
29223
7201-802 Two Notch Road,
Columbia,
SC
29223
3 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: General Cinema Corp., Phoenix Big Cinemas, Regal Entertainment Group
Previous Names: Columbia Mall Cinemas, Phoenix Columbia Place Cinema 8
Nearby Theaters
Opened by General Cinemas on July 14, 1978 with 4-screens. On June 22, 1990 it became the Columbia Place Cinemas 8. By 2006 it was part of the Phoenix Big Cinemas, later taken over by Regal. It was closed in 2011. It was reopened in Spring of 2012 and was last operated by an independent, lasting for only 6-months until final closure.
Contributed by
Lauren Grubb
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Recent comments (view all 16 comments)
It actually is an old General Cinema theatre. I was the General Manager there back in 1997. It’s been closed and re-opened two or three times in the last fifteen years.
I am amazed that this location is now closed by their website… Should be changed to closed.. did someone build a Mega-Plex across the street or is the landlord just an A$$? it’s already stadium, the smell can be removed and the cleaning and coat of paint with the installation of digital projectors will generate income to then do seat replacements etc.. it looks like it was maintained by Regal.. if it had been a Carmike I wouldn’t even take a look it would be a shithole ran into the ground. an independent could get in here and make some money… the only thing must be a GREEDY LANDLORD!
Since it had gone independent by the time of its closing, another factor in deciding to closemight have been the cost of conversion to digital. Converting eight screens, depending on whether Regal had converted any of them, would have be a heavy financial burden on an independent.
in this theater’s most recent run (it closed in 2012 sometime) did it run 35mm or was it digital? thanks.
I’m Pretty Sure GCC Had Took Over Operations In The Mid-Late 1980s.
On October 20, 1979, Sen. Strom Thurmond (D-SC) Was Instrumental In The Showings Of “Monty Python’s Life Of Brian” Was Cancelled At The Columbia Mall Cinema Due To Its Nature. Rev. Bill Soloman, A Preacher At The Minister In Irmo Gave Credit To Him. Mrs. Thurmond Received A Call From Soloman And Later Called The Operators, General Cinema, Distributors Of The Film, And Asked That The Film Will Be Banned, Or No Longer Be Seen In South Carolina As It Was Replied By The Minister. 150 Protestors Then Demonstrated Outside The Columbia Mall Cinema To Protest The Cancellation Of The Film. Many Of Them Were Carrying Placards To Voice Their Concern On Censorship.
Warner Brothers Notified That 2 Days Later They Were Accepting Bids For The Film.
There is a long article on a local site called Columbia Closings and I am going to summarize a few highlights here along with my own recollections.
mcs1996: I don’t know with 100% certainty, but I believe that it closed running 35mm. The version that closed in 2011 ended up with 35mm projectors in the lobby though. So I am not sure if the final version moved them back up to the booth or if they put in digital. It seems like a full digital conversion would have been an expensive proposition for a theater that was reopened independent and only lasted about 6 months.
Reopened June 22nd, 1990 with 8 screens. Grand opening ad posted.
So the original 4-plex was inside the mall? From the google imagery the newer building outside the mall looks like it has a 4-plex with a modern GCC wrapped around it.
Wallieb26just uploaded an epic video of the cinema 10years later