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Today’s picture captures the Orange Drive-In’s snack bar and staff (circa late 1940’s?). As with most drive-ins, the Orange operated a cafeteria style snack bar, with patrons passing along a stationed service line, before checking out at the register; another, larger, stand was built when the venue added a second screen in the late 60’s. A […]

  And you thought “big sound” was a modern innovation. .   . Pictured above are two Bell Laboratories technicians, showing off one of the sixteen horned speakers that was utilized during a series stereophonic sound demonstrations held in the late 1930’s. Initially used to showcase musical performances, the technology was adapted to motion pictures […]

Theatre structures have regularly posed a dilemma for property owners. While serving as potentially lucrative tenants and offering up considerable consumer drawing power, there is often a problematic issue once a theatre has run it’s coarse as a viable business. After movie goers have moved on, the property owner is left with a “white elephant”; […]

On this week, ten years ago, six national theatre chains announced their plans to form a joint venture that would “begin a new era for the industry”. The chains involved included Lowes Cineplex Entertainment, Regal Cinemas, Cinemark Theatres, General Cinema Theatres, Edwards Theatres, and Century Theatres. The “new” concept would be selling movie tickets online, via Fandango.com. […]

This week marks the tenth anniversary of Regal’s Foothill Ranch 22. While the theatre has never quite lived up to business expectations, the site does have a rather colorful back story. Back in 1993, the Foothill Ranch Development Company announced plans to build a retail and entertainment center, on a fifteen acre parcel, beside the […]

These days, the Mann Theatres chain exists as a mismanaged handful of leases, in search of new operators. Yet, in the not so distant past, Mann was a major player in the exhibition industry; for a time, the nation’s largest independent chain. . Mann’s story begins with the chain’s namesake, Ted Mann. Born on April 15, 1916, Mann first […]

In keeping with the recent announcement that Mann is selling off theatres, including Grauman’s Chinese, here is a picture from the last time the Chinese changed hands. .   The picture comes from a 1970-1971 souvenir brochure National General Theatres released; although the photo was likely taken a few years earlier. Then part of Gene […]

This week, Cinemerica (the co venture of Warner Brothers and Viacom, which owns Mann Theatres) officially announced intentions to sell off Mann sites piecemeal, including the legendry Grauman’s Chinese. While the company had been quietly shopping the dying chain for a number of years, this public acknowledgement, that they have decided to sell off remaining theatres as individual lots, surely marks […]

  The theatre industry has long been rather “creative” with it’s own history; especially when it comes to who was first to reach a specific milestone. Be it the result of exhibitors attempting to “one up” each other or simply classic showmanship, there are usually numerous parties holding claim to the same industry breakthrough. One such multi storied […]

A sign of our changing times, AMC has now downsized their daily print ad, in “The Orange County Register”, to a less than 2″ square, which directs readers to the company’s website and show time phone line. This comes on the heels of a similar downgrade by Cinemark and hints at where Regal’s ever shrinking block […]