AMC Orleans 8

2247 Bleigh Street,
Philadelphia, PA 19152

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: AMC Theatres, Budco Inc., William Goldman Theaters Inc.

Previous Names: Orleans Theatre

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News About This Theater

AMC Orleans 8 Theatre

The Orleans Theatre was opened as a 2,000-seat, single screen theatre on May 15, 1963 with Jack Lemmon in “The Days of Wine and Roses”. It was operated by local movie operator William Goldman.

Budco acquired Goldman Theatres in 1972, and they twinned the Orleans Theatre on May 24, 1972. Two smaller screens were added to the original building on July 22, 1977, and four screens were added in the back of a Pathmark Supermarket in December 1983.

AMC Theatres acquired the Budco theater chain in mid-1986. It was closed on Labor Day, 2007 and was demolished.

Contributed by Michael R. Rambo Jr.

Recent comments (view all 157 comments)

rivest266
rivest266 on May 19, 2014 at 11:42 am

Tiny grand opening ad in the photo section as well as from its source at http://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers%2023/Philadelphia%20PA%20Inquirer/Philadelphia%20PA%20Inquirer%201963/Philadelphia%20PA%20Inquirer%201963%20-%208807.pdf

robboehm
robboehm on December 26, 2014 at 9:43 am

rivest266 is Mike Rivest from Montreal, Canada who has created his own website of theaters in the United States and Canada which is available on a down loadable spreadsheet at movie-theatre.org. He has amassed some very interesting material on US theaters figuring he lives in a different country.

TheALAN
TheALAN on April 9, 2015 at 2:43 pm

The Cottman-Bustleton Center is on Cottman Avenue (2139), not Bleigh Avenue!

dawnd
dawnd on June 20, 2015 at 7:50 pm

I remember Mom dropping us kids off for an afternoon at the movies. We each got one dollar. It was 50 cents to get in, and then we had 50 cents to spend on a candy and a drink. Those were the days!

rivest266
rivest266 on October 8, 2016 at 12:42 pm

2 screens on May 24th, 1972, 4 on July 22nd, 1977 and eight on December 1983.

Eddie J
Eddie J on August 14, 2017 at 4:22 pm

A few weeks from now will be 10 years since the orleans closed (Labor Day 2007).

Michael R. Rambo Jr.
Michael R. Rambo Jr. on January 20, 2021 at 9:44 am

This was 1 of 2 theatres in the Philadelphia area that opened “The Godfather Part II” on Christmas Day 1974, the other being General Cinema’s Cinema Cherry Hill I & II. Don’t know which Center City theatre had this film.

rivest266
rivest266 on January 20, 2021 at 10:12 am

It played the Budco Regency downtown.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES on September 27, 2025 at 6:13 pm

Opened on May 15, 1963 with Jack Lemmon in “Day Of Wine And Roses” as a 2,000-seat single-screener.

m00se1111
m00se1111 on October 3, 2026 at 6:40 am

the description above states 1986. I checked online, it states: AMC Theatres acquired the Budco Quality Theaters chain in mid-1986. 📅 Acquisition Timeline • Transaction: Completed in mid-1986 by American Multi-Cinema, Inc. (AMC). • Seller: Sold by founder Claude “Buddy” Schlanger. • Scope: Included prominent Philadelphia-area locations like the Orleans 8 and Andorra 6.

Having spent so much of my younger days here as well as other Budco owned venues, recalling how it was twinned from the single, made into a fourplex and even recalling when the Pathmark near by was purchased to make it into another 4 screens, I’d be curious which information is actually correct as I don’t recall myself.

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