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In addition to opening blockbuster films, December has a long tradition of opening new theatres. Here is a look at Orange County’s December opening history:

 

Edwards Huntington 12/25/65

Edwards Harbor 12/25/70

Edwards Cinema Viejo 12/25/70

Jerry Lewis Mini Cinema 12/10/171

AMC Orange Mall 12/16/71

UA Village 12/22/72

Edwards Bristol 12/74

UA A & B Twin 12/20/74

Edwards Town Center 12/25/81

Edwards/SoCal Laguna Hills Mall 12/16/83

Edwards Crown Valley 12/25/86

AMC Fullerton 12/18/87

Edwards Franciscan Plaza 12/15/89

Much like Christmas gifts from years past, most of these venues are long gone; the Village, Laguna Hills Mall Cinema, and AMC Fullerton being the only sites that still operate as theatres (only the AMC Fullerton operates under it’s original chain).

Maintaining a round-about link to their holiday roots, the former Cinema Viejo and Crown Valley theatres are currently occupied by churches.

Today marks the twenty-first anniversary of the AMC Fullerton. Opened on 12/18/87, as an eight-plex, the theatre would go on to add two more auditoriums in the early 90’s and expand in to a twenty screen megaplex in 1997. For a brief period, in the mid 90’s, this theatre was considered one of the busiest (per screen attendance) cinemas in Orange County. Unfortunately, recent years have seen the AMC Fullerton receiving notoriety of a more dubious nature; including an incident in which several customers were stabbed during the screening of a horror film. While far removed from it’s glory days, as a movie going hub, the AMC Fullerton currently stands as the company’s oldest county venue and shows no signs of relinquishing the title anytime soon.

Fortunately, the theatre survived opening with “Leonard Part 6”

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.

This past week, I ran in to a long abandoned bit of multiplex “flair”; the booth viewing window. Back in the mid to late 80’s, many multiplexes were equipped with a small to medium sized window that allowed customers a view of the “inner workings” of the theatre’s projection booth. This feature was almost exclusively tied in with the second floor balcony/restroom design, that was commonplace during the era. More often than not, the view was somewhat limited and confined to a single projector, but it offered customers a peek at an area that was otherwise off limits and somewhat mysterious to your average movie-goer.

These windows quietly disappeared by the time mega-plexes arrived on the scene; excluded from new builds and existing installations often walled over. In Orange County, I believe the only intact examples are at Edwards’ University 6 and Tustin Marketplace 6 (pictured above). In a time when many chains are looking towards retro styling and amenities, one wonders if someone might bring back this long forgotten public relations feature. 

While this transition will likely take far longer than the industry hype machine has promoted, especially considering the current financial climate, there is little doubt we are about to see some major changes. As with the transition from single screens to multiplexes and multiplexes to megaplexes, there are likely to be quite a few industry casualties over the next ten years or so; a $70,000 per screen investment, partially subsidized or not, is simply too great a financial burden for the cinema landscape not to go through some radical alterations. When all is said and done, there very well might be some different names and alignments leading the industry.

On a more immediate and local front, there are a few Orange County venues that are now living on borrowed time, due to the impending digital era.

Under performing theatres, likely to be closed, rather than upgraded:

Rancho Santa Margarita 6, Rancho Santa Margarita

Triangle Square 8, Costa Mesa

Tustin Marketplace 6, Tustin

Westpark 8, Irvine

 

Dormant theatres now with little hope for a rebirth:

 

Brea Plaza, Brea

Brookhust Theatre, Anaheim

Miramar Theatre, San Clemente

 

Independent theatres seemingly without the means to keep pace:

 

Four Star Cinema, Garden Grove

Laguna Hills Mall 3, Laguna Hills

 

In addition to these obvious selections, there will certainly be more venues added to the list over the next few years. One must question the fate of several locations operated by Regency Theatres, who’s, currently successful, niche operation of older cinemas will be tested under the new standard. And, one can’t even rule out some of the larger, high profile theatres, as we enter uncharted waters.

Yesterday, I posted on AMC Mainplace being the first Orange County theatre to break the $6 ticket barrier. Following a quick bit of research, I ran across some additional “controversial” ground this venue broke in the county.

 

 

Demonstrating how drastically tides can turn within the ever changing world of cinema, the theatre’s current operator, Picture Show Entertainment, is better known for “wholesome” entertainment and discount ticket prices. The theatre, which once tested the limits of county tastes and pocket books, now caters to families and offers the county’s lowest ticket prices.

This weekend marks the twenty first anniversary of the Mainplace 6 in Santa Ana. The theatre’s September 25, 1987 opening marked a significant leap forward in multiplex design, exemplifying the movement away from generic “shoebox” cinemas, and was part of, then operator, AMC’s second push in to Southern California. On a more novel note, Mainplace 6 also broke the $6 ticket price barrier in Orange County. While almost laughable, in comparison to today’s prices, the $6 ticket was a controversial milestone back in 1987.

 

Los Angeles Times 10/18/87

 

What will 25 cents buy these days? A first-class postage stamp and 3 cents change. A local call at a pay phone-forget the change. The morning paper at a sidewalk news rack. Or a cheap cigar.

Even twice the purchasing power won’t buy much. Four bits is about half a gallon of gas. Two hours’ grace on a parking meter (Newport Beach not included). Or a cup of coffee, hold the Kahlua.

Yet when it comes to movie prices, 25 or 50 cents becomes big money. Especially when it’s the difference between an adult admission price of $5.50 or $5.75 and $6, a barrier that has finally been broken in Orange County.

Although $6 movies are common in L.A., admission to most Orange County theaters has remained $5 to $5.50. The San Francisco-based Syufy chain’s eight-screen Cinedome complex in Orange upped the ante by 25 cents last spring on adult admissions to $5.75.

And then, with the Sept. 25 opening of the lavish new AMC theater complex in Santa Ana’s MainPlace shopping center, the $6 movie finally arrived. Of course, you can get in for less than six bucks-if you can pass for 13 or skip out of work early enough to catch reduced-price afternoon matinees or twilight shows. But the average working stiff is still going to have to shell out six big ones on a trip to AMC’s MainPlace.

How big a deal is an extra quarter or two to theater operators? Evidently, pretty big.

When queried about ticket policies, one normally talkative movie-biz official clammed up so tight you would think he was being asked to leak nuclear secrets to the Soviets. Executives at other major theater chains were more cooperative, but no less concerned about AMC’s strategy and prices in general.

“We have no plans in the near future to raise our prices,” said Joan Edwards, executive vice president of Newport Beach-based Edwards Cinemas, which dominates the Orange County movie market with about 80 screens and a top admission price of $5.50. “We want to keep them as low as we can and still run a business.”

To the average movie-goer, though, Edwards said, “I think (50 cents) makes a big difference.”

John Reutter-Harrah of Garden Grove agreed. “I was a bit shocked at the price,” Reutter-Harrah said Monday as he and his wife Susan were leaving MainPlace after seeing “My Life as a Dog.”

Added Susan: “We have to pay a babysitter, so it can really add up . . . . Our first choice is always a $2 theater.” Both said they would go back to the AMC, but, Susan said, “only if it’s a movie that isn’t playing anywhere else.” Like maybe New York City, where the news of $7 movie prices has surfaced in recent weeks.

Still, with wide, thick-cushioned seats, combination armrest-beverage cup holders, multichannel stereo sound, ceiling fans for air circulation and colorful art-deco interiors, AMC’s MainPlace theaters are a vast improvement over the stereotypically spartan cracker-box mall theater.

AMC is also venturing beyond the usual mall theater booking policy by offering Orange County exclusives (“My Life as a Dog,” “Slam Dance”) and limited run films (“Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll”) as well as those in general release (“Best Seller”). And it was reassuring to find that along with all the high-minded fare shown during opening week festivities, AMC wasn’t above showing the future trash classic “Amazon Women on the Moon.”

“AMC has been concentrating efforts on what we refer to as `impact houses,’ and the Santa Ana MainPlace theaters certainly fall into that category,” AMC spokesman Ron Foreman said. “Our new Century City (14-theater complex that opened Oct. 9) is another good example. . . . By `impact houses’ we mean luxurious appointments and high profile situations in upscale malls. That’s the kind of place AMC wants to be in.”

If you still think $6 is just too much for a movie, try thinking of it as one cultural advantage Orange County has over New York. Or, at least, as a great excuse for giving up those cheap cigars.

Here is a quick look at the drive-ins that have come and gone in Orange County over the past 67 years:

 

Orange Drive-In, Orange: June 18, 1941 to September 11, 1994

Cina-Car Drive-In, Buena Park: May 16, 1949 to July 5, 1993

Paulo Drive-In, Costa Mesa: July 1, 1949 to February 2, 1976

Hi-Way 39, Westminister: June 29, 1955 to March 31, 1997

Anaheim Drive-In, Anaheim: August 3, 1955 to March 25, 1990

Harbor Drive-In, Santa Ana: June 29,1960 to December 24,1986

Warner Drive-In, Huntington Beach: June 29, 1961 to October 7, 1984

Mission Drive-In, San Juan Capistrano: November 1966 to September 8, 1985

La Habra Drive-In, La Habra: July 3, 1967 to September 10, 1989  

Fountain Valley Drive-In, Fountain Valley: July 12, 1967 to October 7, 1984

Stadium Drive-In, Orange: May 27, 1970 to September 12, 1996

Star Vu Drive-In, Costa Mesa: May 18, 2007 to October 2007

Today marks the twenty third anniversary of San Juan Capistrano’s Mission Drive-In closure. At one time, Orange County featured eleven drive-ins, but, by the late nineties, all had fallen victim to the economics of skyrocketing property values and a declining interest in the viewing format. The Mission, which was the eighth drive-in to open in Orange County and the fourth to close, on September 8, 1985, exemplified  this unfortunate late twentieth century trend; after years of slumping attendance, the property became more valuable than the business, leading to the drive-in’s closure and conversion in to a retail center.

 

The Mission Drive-In opened to a capacity audience, in November of 1966, with the features “Paradise Hawaiian Style” and “Night of the Grizzly”. Nineteen years later, a sparse collection of vehicles closed out the venue with “Return of the Living Dead” and “Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome”.

In the fall of 1996, Edwards Theatres Circuit Inc. operated some 560 screens, at 90 locations. The, then debt free company, pulled in estimated revenues of $170 million and had a two year plan to spend $200 million on expanding the chain. The notoriously competitive company had all but formally declared war on industry giant AMC; via the construction of their Ontario Palace 22, some 900 feet away from AMC’s Ontario Mills 30 mega-plex. Yet, amidst this thriving facade, there was an unlikely scenario quietly unfolding, behind the scenes, that nearly changed the face of Southern California cinema. The ninety year old founder of Edwards Theatres, James Edwards Jr., was “secretly” negotiating the sale of his chain to bitter rival AMC.

 

At the time, AMC was in the midst of a massive nationwide expansion and spending spree, after having almost single handedly launched the industry’s late 90’s mega-plex era/expansion craze, with the 1995 opening of their Grand 24 theatre, in Dallas Texas. In turn, AMC’s Stanley Durwood had undertaken a more aggressive approach to the coveted Southern California market and had begun to butt heads with the senior Edwards on a more regular basis. Through these seemingly hostile interactions the two aging theatre moguls had observed a potential financial windfall; the elderly Edwards a lucrative “cash out” and Durwood an “overnight” regional dominance.

 

The negotiations, while “officially” never moving beyond long distance communications, “unofficially” came much closer to a deal than most realize. At one point, Durwood actually flew out to Orange County, with his corporate entourage in tow, to meet Edwards for a face-to-face discussion on the matter. Over the days leading up to the planned meeting, two local AMC general managers were sent out on hurried missions to photograph and document as many of Edwards’ theatres as possible; passing the information off as Durwood’s entourage made it’s way through the area. Then, after a quick stop at Edward’s Irvine Spectrum location, the rendezvous was called off, relegating the negotiations back to mere speculation.  

 

                                            

A few months later, on April 26 1997, James Edwards Jr. died and “the deal that almost was” was quite literally “dead in the water” (Edwards had suffered a heart attack and fallen in to Newport Harbor). Edwards’ son, James Edwards III, officially took the reigns of his family’s business and quickly sent AMC the pointed message “No Sale”. 

 

Over the ensuing years, “the deal that almost was” would prove out the senior Edwards’ foresight. Edwards Theatre Circuit Inc. would bury itself in the financial strains of the mega-plex era. The company would invest $40 million in the IMAX corporation, $300 million in theatre anchored  entertainment centers, expand to some 750 screens, and take on a $250 million dollar loan from Bank of America for a planned 532 more screens; all in an attempt to keep up with the competition. Overburdened with debt, Edwards Theatres would file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in 2000. A year later, the Edwards family would be forced to sell controlling interest in the company to billionaire Philip Anschutz’s Regal Entertainment group, for a mere $56 million.