LOOK Dine-In Cinemas South Arlington

jamestv on March 14, 2015 at 11:53 am

Saw “Lifeforce” in 70MM here in the summer of ‘85.

rivest266 on June 29, 2018 at 3:46 pm

July 12th, 2002 grand opening ad in the photo section.

dallasmovietheaters on February 27, 2021 at 10:14 am

The mid-1980s was the era of the multiplex and for growing Arlington, Texas, four movie theater circuits were vying for the same zones. For South Arlington, the newly created Interstate 20 would soon create a retail nexus in South Arlington and exits from Fort Worth to Grand Prairie would become a major cinema-going corridor and . UA opened the UA Bowen 8 in 1984 along with the Las Vegas Trail 8, UA South 8, and UA North Star 8. Loews launched the 6-screen 20 & 287 as well as the Lincoln Square a year earlier. The UA Bowen 8 opened in 1984 and would be joined by the AMC Green Oaks, yet another eight-screen operation opening just about a mile away on November 21, 1984. Finally, General Cinema would open its eight-screener, the Arlington Park Square, in 1986 a few exits to the east as South Arlington was replete the multiplexes.

The circuits competed for clearances throughout the 1980s and 1990s. would come online within two years about two miles to the east. Up and down I-20, more theaters sprouted at exits such as the Cinemark Grand Prairie megaplex to the east, the Sony CityView at Bryant Irvin, et al. And by the mid-1990s, a new breed of megaplexes challenged the aging multiplexes.

AMC would close the Green Oaks in 1999 deciding against a lease renewal leaving at the 15-year point of a potential 30-year lease. It focuses on a new mall megaplex, the delayed AMC Parks that opened in 2002. Meanwhile, General Cinema would shutter all of its Tarrant County locations on October 5, 2000 including the nearby Arlington Park Square 8. Premier Theaters of Granbury took on a different complex, the Ridgmar Town Square, that allowed for pizza, appetizers and wine to be served in the complex becoming the Ridgmar Movie Tavern. It launched on November 16, 2001.

Deciding that similar magic could be found in the vacant AMC Green Oaks, the circuit completed a similar conversion creating the Movie Tavern at Green Oaks. It launched on July 12th, 2002 using it catchphrase of “Where movies never tasted so good.” A Movie Taverns would also be created at the Hulen Mall former UA Hulen 8 multiplex and Bedford’s Central Park 8 formerly of General Cinema and EFW operations. Movie Tavern claimed to be the originator of circuits that followed including Texas-based Studio Movie Grill and Alamo Drafthouse and AMC’s efforts with its Dine-In theatre locations and Cinemark experimenting with CUT!

Cinemark’s LeRoy Mitchell acquired the Movie Taverns but was forced to sell them when Cinemark took on the Rave Circuit due to competitive concerns. VSS-Southern Theatres bought the Movie Tavern circuit and opened the West 7th Theatre location. In November of 2018, Marcus obtained the VSS-Southern circuit and while the flagship Ridgmar would be shuttered, Green Oaks Movie Tavern was still functioning in the 2020s. Its name was changed to Movie Tavern by Marcus Green Oaks.

rivest266 on June 23, 2022 at 1:36 pm

Reopened May 5th, 2022.

Webshot of website posted.

ridethectrain on August 28, 2024 at 5:25 am

Please update, total screens is 7 screens, not 8. Look removed an auditorium. Seating Capacity: Theatre 1 and 6 66 seats Theatre 2 118 (LOOK PX) Theatre 3 and 4 107 seats Theatre 5 118 seats Theeatre 7 62 seats