This month marks the ten year anniversary of Orange County’s largest (by number of screens) movie theatre, AMC’s Block 30. The theatre, which was built at the height of the late 90’s mega-plex craze, exemplified the era’s “more is better” approach; which relied more on screen count and an ability to efficiently herd a huge number of customers through the facility, than providing truly notable amenities. Combined with the drawing power of the well positioned Block “lifestyle” shopping center, this “Mc Megaplex”, quickly became Orange County’s most popular movie going destination and one of the top grossing theatres in the nation.
Flash forward ten years and we find the Block somewhat of an inefficient relic, looking to redefine itself within a drastically changing marketplace. While having avoided the fate many of it’s peers suffered (pulling down entire companies in a mountain of debt), the Block still faces the underlying issues of being larger than what is needed and not providing for a financially efficient business model. As modern mega-plexes have scaled back to half the size of the Block, aging 90’s megas seek to find new uses for their abundance of unneeded space; experiments in meeting/rental spaces, dinning facilities, and even razing portions of their buildings have been attempted among desperate operators. The Block, which still draws respectable crowds, has remained relatively unchanged, but it appears only a matter of time before some alternative use is called upon to combat it’s overscreening.
Ten years ago, the thirty screen theatre was seen as the future; today, it is a reminder of a colossal industry misstep.
Tags: No Comments
