America Cinemas de Phoenix
7611 W. Thomas Road,
Phoenix,
AZ
85033
7611 W. Thomas Road,
Phoenix,
AZ
85033
3 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Operated by: America Cinemas
Previously operated by: Cinema Latino, General Cinema Corp., Harkins Theatres
Functions: Movies (Spanish Language)
Previous Names: Westridge Mall Cinema I, II, III, IV, V, VI, Harkins Westridge Mall 6, Desert Sky Mall 6, Nuestro Cine, Cinema Latino de Phoenix, Sonora Cinemas Phoenix
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
888.588.2463
Nearby Theaters
Opened by General Cinema on May 21, 1982 in was located in the Westridge Mall in the Maryvale district in southwest Phoenix. This non-stadium style theater features six smallish auditoriums that show first-run films either with Spanish subtitles or dubbed in Spanish. They recently installed a 3D projector in one of the auditoriums. They cater to the Hispanic-American crowd and are very popular, especially on Sunday afternoons, although they don’t draw the crowds they used to. It’s fun to watch the patrons, especially the young men dressed in bolo ties, cowboy hats and pointy cowboy boots. The Westridge Mall was renamed Desert Sky mall.
In July 2016 it was renamed Sonora Cinemas Phoenix and was closed on March 16, 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Sonora Cinemas operators filed for bankruptcy on August 6, 2020 and the closure became permanent. It was taken over by America Cinemas in summer of 2023 and reopened on August 11, 2023 as America Cinemas de Phoenix.
Contributed by
MissAmanda
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Recent comments (view all 11 comments)
This theatre opened in 1981 as the Westridge Cinemas, first run theatres inside the brand new Westridge Mall on the west side of Phoenix. It had an exterior entrance and an entrance inside the mall. In the 90s, the mall changed its name to Desert Sky Mall and the theatre adopted the same name. In the 2000s the theatre became Cinema Latino. There is no longer mall acess to the theatre and only the exterior entrance.
I believe this was previously a General Cinema Theatre.
I worked as an usher here in 1988 while going to college. There are/were 2 ramps (from the mall & exterior entrance) that lead down into the center snack bar. Which is circular shaped. And the theaters were split into 2 hallways, 3 on each side. I remember 3 Men & A Baby playing for most of that year, I can still recite the dialogue of the last 5 minutes. We also had midnight movies on the weekends, including Rocky Horror & Heavy Metal. At some point, I was allowed to make popcorn, which was made upstairs in a room next to the booth. We popped about a week’s worth of corn and stored it in plastic trash bags, yumm.
May 21st, 1982 grand opening ad as Westridge Cinema in photo section.
General Cinema launched the Westridge Mall Cinema I, II, III, IV, V, & VI with a May 21st, 1982 grand opening. General Cinemas dropped the location on March 30, 1995.
Harkins Theatre rebooted the location as the Harkins Westridge Mall 6 on May 5, 1995. It was then renamed as the Harkins Desert Sky when the mall changed names. Harkins closed the venue after shows on January 30, 2003.
Colorado-based Sonora Entertainment Group used its Cinema Latino nameplate when it took on the venue renaming it Cinema Latino de Phoenix with a grand opening on November 13, 2003 including the Spanish-languge, “Lucia Lucia” and “El Crimen Padre Amaro” both shown with English subtitles and several dubbed major Hollywood films. The mini-circuit had recently closed in Las Vegas and Colorado Springs, but had its Aurora, Colorado and Fort Worth, Texas locations running.
The theatre was rebranded as Sonora Cinemas in 2016 and got a major refresh at a relaunch in July of 2016. That included the transition to stadium seating. Sonora Cinemas suspended all of its programming following movies as of March 16, 2020 for the COVID-19 pandemic in its three remaining locations, here at the Sonora Cinemas Phoenix (formerly Cinema Latino de Phoenix), the Sonora Cinemas Aurora, Colorado (formerly Cinema Latino), and the Cinema Latino in Pasadena, Texas.
Sonora filed for voluntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection on August 6, 2020 leaving an uncertain future for the locations which remained closed into 2021.
Sonora Cinemas dissolved - the closure is permanent.
Pity. It was a great place to see a movie either in Spanish or with Spanish subtitles. It will be missed.
After remaining vacant for months, Sonora Cinemas Phoenix has been taken over by America Cinemas, which operates Spanish language theaters in various cities in Texas. Renovations are underway and I believe they are planning to open later in August 2023 or September. I spoke with construction workers yesterday and they weren’t sure.
They’re open!
Article of interest:
America Cinemas de Phoenix reopening 08 Oct 2023, Sun Arizona Republic (Phoenix, Arizona) Newspapers.com