Blog posts matching ‘amc boston’ (2024)

Closings

From the Salem News: Due to a number variables, the credits have rolled on the independent movie theater Hollywood Hits, which closed Monday night.

“We regret to inform you that we have closed,” the theater said on its website. “We thank all of our customers for their patronage over the past 17 years.”

Since 1999, the small, independent cinema at 7 Hutchinson Drive showed movies on the North Shore as a low-price alternative to seeing films in large multiplexes.

It was a place to catch both first-run movies and movies that appealed to the art crowd. Its concessions were also less expensive than those at the chains.

Reached by phone Tuesday, owner and Beverly resident Scott Przybycien confirmed the announcement.

“That is true,” he said. “We closed the doors last night.”

Przybycien said he was “heavy-hearted” having to close up the cinema building for the last time.

The theater, visible from Route 128 north, had been a corporate chain until 1999, when Loews left the location for a space in the Liberty Tree Mall, Przybycien said.

In 1999, Hollywood Hits started off as a discount theater, but changes in the industry saw it become an art house that also showed first-run films.

In recent years, Hollywood Hits was able to run the same mainstream blockbusters as the AMC Loews Liberty Tree Mall 20, and Przybycien said his theater was doing well with this product.

In May, “X-Men: Apocalypse” was the first movie that 20th Century Fox dropped clearances to allow both the chain theaters and the independents to run the same films at the same time, Przybycien said. That was good news.

But a number of factors conspired to keep Hollywood Hits from showing the hits well into the future.

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Box Office

Who said traditional movie theater chains can’t learn anything from Netflix?

Starting in January, AMC Theatres in the Boston area will let you attend movie showings for a monthly subscription—up to one movie a day, if you feel like it.

It’s not quite as cheap as Netflix, but still pretty reasonable—either $35 or $45 a month, depending on the package you choose. Attending just a handful of showings a month should make the pass pay for itself.

The service is being piloted in Denver along with Boston, with plans to add more cities in the future. It’s powered by movie subscription service MoviePass of New York.

More details at moviepass.com/AMC and in the news release…

Read the entire article at BostInno.com.

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Industry

BAYSIDE, NY — Our theater the AMC Bay Terrace 6 currently shows Korean films occasionally. The Korean film “Man From Nowhere” is playing there. One of the ushers I’m friendly with tells me a Chinese film is coming and I found this link which shows AMC theaters signing a deal with China Lion Film Distribution for up to 15 films a year. The first of these to be released here will be “Aftershock” on October 29. It will be released simultaneously in a number of other theaters in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Houston, Washington D.C., Toronto and Ottawa.

CEO Barlow said, “We are delighted to partner with such a U.S. theatrical powerhouse as AMC. After a long absence, Chinese, Asian and European audiences will have access to the very best of Chinese theatrical releases in most cases screening day and date with China. We are honored that major Chinese producer Huayi Bros have placed their faith in us to present director Feng Xiaogang’s epic story of the 1976 Tangshan earthquake. While our core target audience will be the 2 million plus Chinese residents in our primary screening markets I believe these films will quickly find accord with mainstream American audiences. Throughout the last few years in Australia and New Zealand many of these pictures have been the No. 1 or No. 2 picture in the opening week at the multiplexes where they have screened and we expect the same profile in North America.”

Read the press release here.

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Memories

[b]HAPPY 30TH, “EMPIRE"
REMEMBERING "THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK” ON ITS 30TH ANNIVERSARY

Compiled by Michael Coate[/b]

Dedicated to:
Leigh Brackett (Screenwriter), 1915-1978
John Barry (Second Unit Director), 1935-1979
Graham Freeborn (Chief Make-Up Artist), 1938-1986
Jack Purvis (“Chief Ugnaught”), 1937-1997
Alec Guiness (“Ben ‘Obi-Wan’ Kenobi”), 1914-2000
Terry Liebling (Casting), 1942-2001
Des Webb (“Snow Creature”), 1932-2002
Bruce Boa (“General Rieekan”), 1930-2004
Peter Diamond (Stunt Coordinator), 1929-2004
John Hollis (“Lando’s Aide”), 1931-2005
Michael Sheard (“Admiral Ozzel”), 1938-2005
David Tomblin (First Assistant Director), 1930-2005
Gareth Wigan (20th Century-Fox Executive), 1931-2010

Has it really been thirty years since the world was introduced to Yoda, the Imperial March and the thought that Darth Vader might be Luke Skywalker’s father?

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of (one of) the greatest sequel(s) ever made, I thought I’d present a package of information that includes some production history, historical data, trivia, and, for movie-theater enthusiasts, a list of the theaters in which Empire played upon its initial release. Those who saw the movie in one of the featured venues can reminisce about the experience while others can imagine what the experience must have been like.

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Memories

In space no one can hear you scream.

On May 25, 1979, Twentieth Century-Fox released “Alien,” Ridley Scott’s sci-fi/horror classic about the crew of the Nostromo who get more than they bargained for after investigating a distress signal from a mysterious planet. Suspense, atmospheric moodiness and Oscar-winning visual effects highlighted the film which starred Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, and Yaphet Kotto. The popular and influential film spawned several sequels and numerous imitations.

Back in May of this year, around the time of the actual 30th anniversary date, I considered posting an anniversary tribute for “Alien,” but I talked myself out of it because (1) five years ago I had written something for the film’s 25th anniversary and I thought writing a 30th anniversary piece would be unnecessary and redundant, and (2) “Alien” was covered in the Cinema Treasures news posting A look back at the year 1979: the year of science fiction. I’ve since reconsidered, but instead of writing something new I’ve decided to simply quote selected passages from my 25th anniversary article including the original bookings list, all of which focus not so much on the film itself but the experience of seeing the film.

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Technology

Digital 3-D = *
Imax 3-D = **

ALABAMA
Auburn: Carmike Wynnsong 16
Birmingham: Carmike Summit 16
Birmingham: Rave Lee Branch 15
Cullman: Carmike 10
Daphne: Rave Jubilee Square 12
Decatur: Carmike 8
Florence: Carmike Regency Square 12
Homewood: Carmike Wynnsong 12
Hoover: Rave Patton Creek 15
Huntsville: Carmike 10
Huntsville: Rave Valley Bend 18
Mobile: Carmike 14
Mobile: Carmike Wynnsong 16
Montgomery: Carmike Eastdale 8
Montgomery: Carmike Wynnsong 10
Montgomery: Rave Festival Plaza 16
Orange Beach: Rave Wharf 15 *
Vestavia Hills: Rave Vestavia Hills 10 *

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Commentary

When the Metropolitan Opera announced last year that some of its productions were going to be beamed to movie theaters, you could count me as one of the skeptics. With attendance down, an artform that’s rather commercially stuck in the past didn’t seem like the proper antidote.

Then, I realized exactly how little I know about anything. I started hearing about packed houses all across the country. Even the more modern pieces were drawing well. Now,Playbill Arts just announced that the Met will be beefing up its schedule even more this year.

The Metropolitan Opera is set to present its high-definition simulcasts on up to 400 movie screens in the United States during the coming season — nearly triple the number of venues from last season.

The company announced today a renewed and extended deal with National CineMedia (NCM) to present the live Saturday afternoon broadcasts at between 300 and 400 cinemas across the country. The operas will be shown at participating AMC, Cinemark, Georgia Theater Company, National Amusem*nts and Regal theaters; according to the Met and NCM, more affiliate locations are being added to NCM’s digital high-definition network.

The movie theater simulcasts were seen as a bold but risky venture when the Met launched them last season. In the event, they proved an enormous success, with more locations and screens being added over the course of the year and repeat presentations added at some locations. The program attracted press coverage all over the world, and the broadcasts themselves were extended during the season from the U.S., Canada and Great Britain to seven countries on three continents.

Good for them. It’s great to see not only supporting their local movie theaters, but opera as well. What does this mean for the future of movie theaters though? With a more obscure idea like this working, what will come next?

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Technology

According to Buena Vista, as reported in the trades, “Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End” is the first movie to be shown domestically in the Digital Cinema format on 1,000 screens, suggesting continued growth of D-Cinema installations and industry commitment to a digital future.

Here’s a list of (most of) the D-Cinema locations for “Pirates” (minus the screen counts) courtesy of www.FromScriptToDVD.com

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Theaters

BOSTON, MA — As expected, with AMC selling off some of its most-desired properties to prevent monopoly, the Fenway 13 is going to Regal.

The deal makes Boston a battleground between the nation’s two largest theater chains, with Regal moving into the Fenway location and AMC hanging on to its 19-screen Boston Common theater it took over earlier this year when it acquired Loews Cineplex Entertainment to become the nation’s No. 2 theater chain.

To obtain regulatory approval for the Loews purchase, AMC was required to sell the 13-screen Fenway complex.

For more, go to Boston.com.

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Industry

Loews and AMC have agreed to each sell five theaters as a condition for the government to approve their merger next year. From the official press release:

“Five theaters from each circuit have been selected by the [uS Department of Justice and various state attorneys general] for sale as a condition to enable the companies to proceed with their transaction. The theaters are as follows:

AMC Fenway 13 (Boston)
AMC City North 14 (Chicago)
AMC Union Station 9 (D.C.)
AMC Kabuki 8 (San Francisco)
AMC Van Ness 14 (San Francisco)
Loews Webster Place 11 (Chicago)
Loews E-Walk 13 (New York City)
Loews (Cineplex Odeon) Meridian 16 (Seattle)
Loews Keystone 16 (Dallas)
Loews (Cineplex Odeon) Wisconsin Ave. 6 (D.C.)

It is anticipated that the sales process could take at least four months.

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