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This Muvico theater complex is located in Rosemont, Ill. |
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."
Movie theaters are having to broaden their appeal to draw customers away from their big-screen TVs and home entertainment systems, said Patrick Corcoran, spokesman for the National Association of Theater Owners.
"For years, the typical date has been dinner and a movie. This is a way to put that in one place," he said. "It's also a way to attract older movie-goers, who are the largest demographic and fastest-growing segment of the population."
In addition to adding restaurants and various forms of entertainment, the movie-theater industry is starting to go digital. So far, about 5,000 out of the 39,000 theaters nationwide have switched.
They include Regal Fredericksburg 15, which has one digital screen, and the Marquee Cinemas in Massaponax. Regal is replacing its Aquia 10 theater with a 14-screen, all-digital theater as part of the changes at Aquia Towne Center, which is being renamed the Town Center at Aquia. The theater is expected to open in the summer or fall of 2009.
There are no plans for construction at the Fredericksburg 15, according to Regal Entertainment Group spokesman Russ Nunley. Marquee did not return repeated phone calls.
The advantage of digital for viewers is a crisper, clearer picture, because there's no easily scratched or damaged celluloid involved. They also can show concerts, including those from the Metropolitan Opera, and can screen the new crop of 3-D movies such as "Journey to the Center of the Earth," which opened yesterday.
"This is technology that just isn't available in the home," Corcoran said of
About a dozen 3-D movies will be coming out in the next two years, including a remake of "Toy Story." They gross two to three times as much as 2-D films, he said.
Theaters with digital technology eventually be able to show live feeds from such sports events as NFL games and NASCAR races, although all the details of this haven't been worked out yet.
"In time, there will no longer be film presentation in United States' theaters, but that's about a decade off," Corcoran said. "It will take longer internationally."
Muvico, which is making a push in Washington, Maryland and Northern Virginia, was attracted to the Spotsylvania Towne Center property because it is in a fast-growing market, will be visible from Interstate 95 and meets the company's criteria for density and demographics.
"We also like being part of the towne centre with the other entertainment components around and near us," said Wilson, noting in particular the five new restaurants that will be part of the mall's soon-to-open Village at Towne Centre.
Muvico, which is known for its amenities, teamed up with Jupiter, Fla.-based Frank Theatres because of its family entertainment centers. It's Superplay USA in Port Lucie, Fla., for example, has 48 lanes of bowling including bumper bowling for children, bowling leagues, miniature golf, laser tag, batting cages, a giant arcade, billiards, a sports bar-type restaurant and a Cold Stone Creamery.
"We've always tried to do more than theaters," said President Bruce Frank. "This is our first joint venture with Muvico, and we think Fredericksburg is a great opportunity to showcase our thoughts."
He said that Muvico and Frank plan to use the theater here as a template for six theaters in Philadelphia, New Jersey and Florida.
"Cinema is changing," Frank said. "It's in a metamorphosis. It's a new world."
Cathy Jett: 540/374-5407
Email: cjett@freelancestar.com
