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Muvico teams up with Frank Theatres to build new movie theater behind Spotsylvania Towne Centre

BY CATHY JETT

Date published: 7/14/2008

BY CATHY JETT

The movie theater soon to be built behind Spotsylvania Towne Centre won't be your father's theater with sticky floors and scratchy films.

Instead, it will have enough features to lure dear old Dad away from watching the 'Skins on his home entertainment system--and maybe even take Mom out for a dinner date to see the Metropolitan Opera.

Paragon Theaters, a subsidiary of Muvico Entertainment, has teamed up with Frank Theatres to create a 12-screen, all-digital theater opening next spring that will be able to show 3-D movies as well as sports events and concerts, including opera performed at the Met.

Tentatively named Muvico Paragon 12, the complex will cater to youngsters, teens and families on the ground level with eight theaters, a restaurant, about 20 bowling alleys and a giant arcade.

Adults who don't want to have to deal with screaming kiddies and text-messaging teens can take the escalator to the second floor for Muvico's "premium" level, which is open only to those ages 21 and over. There, they'll find a full-service bar and restaurant, as well as four theaters that offer reserved seating along with free valet parking and popcorn.

In addition, there will be several bowling lanes in a trendier setting similar to that of such places as Lucky Strike, which serves specialty martinis and coconut shrimp. Businesses will be able to rent the bowling alleys for corporate events.

"People still want to get out of their houses and be entertained," said Mike Wilson, Muvico's senior vice president of strategic corporate development. "It's a real benefit if you can create an experience that makes all that viable and puts it in one facility for ease of scheduling and time efficiency."

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Muvico's new premium section, which features large, plush seats and cocktail tables, already has proved a hit with adults at its Boca Raton, Fla., and Chicago theaters. The one in Boca Raton has the highest attendance of all theaters in Palm Beach County, he said, and the Chicago theater is among the top ten in that city.

"You're creating a segment of movie attendance that might not exist in a market because existing facilities are not conducive to getting adults out of the house," Wilson said. "They don't want to be in the theater with teenagers."

Date published: 7/14/2008