Irvine Spectrum 21 & IMAX

Remodeled and rebranded into a Regal Cinemas location sometime in the early 2020s not long after Cineworld acquired Regal and gave their flagship theatres a makeover.

In regard to inflightmagazines comment from 2021… I think all Edwards locations skipped theater 13, which means if they opened as a “21” it was always just 20. I could be wrong.

The cinema’s full name is now: “Regal Irvine Spectrum ScreenX, 4DX, IMAX, RPX & VIP.” Its opening films include Toy Story (on four screens), Nick of Time (on two screens), Casino (on two screens), Money Train (on two screens), The American President (on two screens), GoldenEye (on two screens), Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (on two screens), Leaving Las Vegas, The Crossing Guard, Carrington, and Get Shorty.

Irvine Spectrum was quite a revelation when it opened 25 years ago last fall. Back then the center was just a handful of shops & restaurants (B&N, Diedrich Coffee, Champs) and the massive 21-screen theater.

It became the go-to destination for catching dinner & a flick with friends, even when I was living in Costa Mesa & Fullerton.

The Hollywood & Palace were the massive stadium-style theaters, while the Chinese & Egyptian were big, but more intimate. You always hoped your movie was playing in one of the four. Luckily they were noted in the newspaper ads.

Can remember seeing 12 Monkeys, Executive Decision, Twister, Mission Impossible, The Rock, Boogie Nights & Magnolia there, to name a few. Even remember catching Meet Joe Black so I could get my first glimpse of the Star Wars Episode 1 trailer.

Caught a few in the early 2000s, but as the center grew it kind of lost its allure. Last thing I saw there was The Hateful Eight in 2015.

Regal carried out a remodeling of this theater beginning in 2015. Reseating has undoubtedly reduced the overall capacity, but I haven’t been able to discover the current number. The plans for the remodeling were by BB Architects, and the firm’s web site features this slide show with eight photos displaying some of the results.

Caught The Hateful Eight here in 70mm over the weekend, only theater in OC showing the road show version. They had it in a tiny little theater, looked like any other standard presentation. The only reason I knew it was film and not digital was the sound of the projector. Glad I saw it, but 70mm road shows are not made for little multiplex screens. Really felt bad when I stepped out at intermission and saw that the large Hollywood screen across the hall was sitting empty (no doubt in between Star Wars screenings).

December 22nd, 1995 grand opening ad in photo section

Regal’s RPX Screen opens here Friday, 5/25 in what was the Egyptian auditorium.

The property is sandwiched between the 5 and 405, beside the “Y” merger of the two freeways. Back when it opened, there was a small retail courtyard in front of the theatre and a few office buildings in the immediate area (the most significant being the Western Digital building). The theatre was a gawdy beacon, who’s violet neon glow could be seen for miles in all directions. However, within a decade, the area was developed to near capacity and the theatre was virtually encapsulated.

Recently (12/07), I noticed that a set of retail “blocks” were being constructed on either side of the theatre’s main entrance (seperated from the theatre structure by a matter of a few feet), further smothering the building in developement. While the neon roof top is still visible from a distance, on site, one has to almost be at the front doors to see the theatre.

A once dramatic structure that has lost much of it’s visual impact in the name of progress.

Edwards Irvine Spectrum 21 was designed by the architectural firm of Perkowitz + Ruth. It was the first entertainment center the firm had designed. Perkowitz + Ruth would go on to design many cinemas for Edwards and other exhibitors.

To Mike.

The total capacity of this theater is 5862.

As for the theme aditoriums.
The Palace has 579 seats.
The Chinese has 586 seats.
The Egyptian has 582 seats.
The Hollywood has 583 seats.
And the IMAX has 546 seats.

the others range from 131 to 270 seats.

The theatre mentioned in the first comment is Century Theatres' “Century 25 Stadium Promenade”, built on the former grounds of the Stadium Drive-In.