Metro Center Cinemas 4
3980 Metro Drive,
Jackson,
MS
39209
3980 Metro Drive,
Jackson,
MS
39209
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Cobb Theatres, General Cinema Corp., Regal Entertainment Group, United Artists Theater Circuit Inc.
Previous Names: Metro Center Cinemas I, II, III & IV
Nearby Theaters
Opened December 15, 1978 on an outparcel of the Metro Center Mall.
December 15, 1978 - November 21, 1991 General Cinemas Theatres.
United Artists Theatres.
1995-1997 Cobb Theatres.
1997- September 16, 1999 Regal.
I’m sure the 10 screen Northpark Cinemas in Ridgeland which opened in 1987 and added 4 more screens in 2000 didn’t help the Metro Center to stay open.
Contributed by
Chief Bob Jensen
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
December 15th, 1978 grand opening ad in photo section.
February 28th, 2003 aerial photo of its demolition also in the photo section.
This theater actually closed in mid-September 1999, not 2000.
Actual closing date is on September 16, 1999.
James W. Wilson, Jr. and Sears' mall division, Homart, announced this incredibly large $100 million super-regional project on March 24, 1975. In 1977, General Cinema Corp. (GCC) incorporated for business in Mississippi and built a $475,000 outparcel four-plex adjacent to the Metrocenter Mall in what was called Metro Center Convenience Center. The Metrocenter Mall hit its March 1, 1978 targeted grand opening. The Metro Center Convenience Center - an outer ring of peripheral stores - was also on target with staggered openings including the Genera Cinema in December of 1978 and the Service Merchandise on March 15, 1979.
The GCC quad held its open house for the Metro Center I•II•III•IV on December 14, 1978 to hit “Superman’s” and “Oliver’s Story” national December 15, 1978 launches. Summer hits “Grease” and “Foul Play” filled the other spots ahead of Christmas releases. It had four identical 317 seat auditoriums for a total capacity of 1,268 seats. The theatre competed with a twin theater at Ellis Isle Shopping Center less than three miles away; it would become a four-plex to remain viable in 1980.
On November 21, 1991, Cobb Theatres of Birmingham took on eight Florida GCC locations and the Metrocenter. It became the Cobb Metro Center 4 and General Cinema’s initial foray into Mississippi had ended. With megaplexes considered “all that” in the early 1990s judging by new 10- to 14-plex venues, aging quads like the Metro Center and nearby Ellis Isle were doomed. In 1993, UA voted its quad off of the Ellis Isle Shopping Center. Meanwhile, Regal Entertainment Group acquired Cobb Theatres in June of 1997. Regal’s nameplate began in September of 1997 with the Cobb Metro Center 4 remaining its name through October 15, 1998. Its days were numbered.
The Metrocenter was built on a heavy reliance of 20-year leasing agreements to reach 100 percent occupancy. The Mall’s initial decline began at that point in 1998 and began with Dillard’s closing one of the anchors due to an overlapping acquisition. The outdated Metro Center Convenience Center began a facelift by new mall owner Coyote Management in Spring of 1998. But Regal said not to bother with their property announcing its closure on September 16, 1998 with “Chill Factor,” “Stigmata,” “In Too Deep,” and “Wood.” Service Merchandise shuttered in 2002. The cinema was demolished in 2004.
Metrocenter went into a near death spiral becoming a greyscale property. The City of Jackson acquired unused anchors for city services attracting non mall shoppers. This gave the mall a gangly and wildly different experience - often unpleasant - as it moved toward an inexorable and largely welcomed closure. A redevelopment plan for the mall was okayed by the City of Jackson in 2026.