Cinemark Lake Forest Foothill Ranch
26602 Towne Centre Drive,
Foothill Ranch,
CA
92610
26602 Towne Centre Drive,
Foothill Ranch,
CA
92610
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I was told the scenario was pretty much what Scott suspected. Cinemark signed a short term lease, which was tenant friendly, fully aware that the property’s future was in doubt. The redevelopment plans had been in play since the time of Regal’s departure, but not finalized. Had the plans fallen through or changed, Cinemark would have explored extending their lease and investing in the theatre. As the redevelopment plans moved forward, Cinemark exited, in a nothing lost fashion (having gained brand exposure and some revenue on a minimal investment).
I don’t think the closure was Cinemark’s idea. The landlord likely asked Cinemark to manage the theater for them until they had a better idea of what their plans were and now that they know, they no longer need Cinemark to operate the theater.
Not sure why Cinemark bought this facility without any concrete plans to renovate it (as far as we know). Just seems like a short-sighted move with a predictable outcome.
Anyway, this will leave the city of Lake Forest without a movie theater for the first time in fifty years. The city originally had the Edwards 1-2-3, 4-5-6 theater on the south side of El Toro Road near the I-5 junction, and later a newer Edwards location right across the street. The two operated concurrently for over a decade – Edwards seemed to make a habit of operating multiple theaters very close to each other (see the Tustin Marketplace and Fashion Island duos, for example).
It’s hard to say if Lake Forest will ever get another theater of its own again in the foreseeable future. Most of the city is very close to the Irvine Spectrum theater, but the Foothill Ranch neighborhood will now be at least a 15-20 minute drive from any theater.
Theater closed and is slated to be demolished in the future. City wants to develop housing on the land that has been in development before Cinemark took over. The food court next door will be demolished as well.
Why would Cinemark close this after only a year? I can’t get the story to open
This facility has seen better days. I grew up going to movies here, including my first ever, Cars (2006). I saw Barbie here on its last night of operation as a Regal theater in 2023. Almost nothing has changed here cosmetically since ‘99 – I believe some of the smaller auditoriums might have gotten new seats at one point, but that’s it. The theater’s age shows, especially in the big auditoriums that still have the original red seats and are rather musty.
This theater is primed for a rejuvenation. Lots of multimillion-dollar homes in the area (including a new two-thousand-home subdivision next door) and some heavy-hitting tenants in the shopping center like Target, Walmart, In-N-Out, and Chipotle. The ridiculously oversized parking lots make the center look like more of a ghost town than it is.
Cinemark wants to expand its presence in SoCal and could potentially do that by giving this theater a facelift and some features like recliners, XD, or D-BOX. Give locals a reason to come to this theater instead of driving to a different location or staying home.
New name is Cinemark Lake Forest Foothill Ranch
Opening August 1, 2023 as the Cinemark Lake Forest Foothill Ranch:
Foothill Ranch, CA: Regal Foothill Towne Center Closed, Reopening August 1 as Cinemark Location [Jul 27, 2023]
I think this was a case of megaplex era speculation that the area surrounding the theatre was about to take off and the relatively isolated location would soon be a hub (i.e. early entry into a pending hotspot). Unfortunately, that area of Foothill Ranch didn’t develop as expected and they were stuck with a very large theatre hidden away on the outskirts of the community. I’m actually surprised it lasted this long.
Announced a July 26, 2023 closure
Personal opinion: Decent theater, but not a great one. I think this has been an underperformer for Regal, due to its location and design. It’s in a very nice area, but it’s kinda buried way back in Foothill Ranch near a toll road. In contrast to the Spectrum, which is right off the I-5 Freeway. The Aliso Viejo is also not right off the freeway, but it’s in a much more active area and is much closer to the freeway than Foothill Ranch.
According to Fandango, all auditoriums here now have reserved seating. Capacities are as follows:
Theater 1 – 330 seats
Theaters 2, 7 & 20 – 93 seats
Theaters 3, 6, 14, 15, 16 & 19 – 105 seats
Theaters 4, 5, 13 & 18 – 151 seats
Theater 8 – 296 seats
Theater 9 – 438 seats
Theater 10 – 410 seats
Theater 11 – 293 seats
Theaters 12 & 21 – 129 seats
Theater 17 – 179 seats
Theater 22 – 376 seats
The most irresponsible, reckless place I’ve ever been. I’ve been on the last session of the movie and was the last person to leave the hall. Unfortunattely I left my bag in the hall, and as the cinema was already closed I came back to get it early in the morning, an hour before the first performance starts. There’s no way anyone could enter the hall except the cinema staff. The hall was cleared, and my bag was missing. They did nothing to find out who took it. They take no responsibility for their staff, so be aware…
September 17th, 1999 grand opening ad in photo section. Edwards gave away free popcorn that week.
The theatre opened on 9/17/1999.
Back in the mid 90’s, AMC announced they were going to build a 24 screen theatre on this property. However, by 1997, AMC had pulled out of the deal and Regal stepped in. This was Regal’s third build in the county, preceeded by La Habra 16 and Garden Grove 16 (also opened in 1999). Regal had initially entered Southern California via the purchase of Krikorian Theatres' original chain, in 1996.
Prior to the opening, Edwards had threatened to build a 16 screen theatre across the toll road from the Regal site. After scrapping that plan, Edwards breifly entered in to buy out talks for the theatre, but that too fell through. Of course, within a few years Edwards filed for bankrupcy and the two companies fell under the REG banner.