The Multiplex Frenzy

ORANGE —  At the rate new movie theaters are being proposed in this town, the next mission impossible could very well be finding a neighborhood that doesn’t have its own multiscreen movie theater.

Developers and theater chain operators have been stumbling over each other recently in a mad dash to announce huge cineplexes planned in northern Orange County.

In Orange alone, city officials are wrestling with two proposals that would add more than 50 screens. Toss in planned theaters in Brea, Anaheim and Fullerton, and the number of screens would soar by more than 100.

Megaplexes being planned range from a massive 30-screen theater at The City Shopping Center in Orange to a pair of 20-something cineplexes planned for dormant drive-in theaters in Anaheim and Orange.

With the rush to build huge cinemas, it’s possible that some proposals are destined to wither on the vine.

One industry insider compared the glut of proposed screens in Orange County to a horse race “with only a few winners possible.” Another described the move toward bigger complexes as “a gamble for the chains because construction [of big cineplexes] like this has never been done before.”

Even under the best of circumstances, “putting a deal together can be a very hazardous and time-consuming process,” said John Krier, a Los Angeles-based film industry consultant. “It can be one complication after another.”

What would happen to the competitive arena if all of the screens now planned for Orange County get built “is something I can’t predict,” acknowledged Joseph Syufy, senior executive vice president of the San Francisco-based Century Theatres chain, which has proposed a 24-screen theater in Orange.

“We’ve got our head down and we’re charging forward to get it built on time,” said Syufy, who expects the project to open on schedule late next year. “Orange County is a great moviegoing market, and there’s certainly room there for plenty of screens.”

James Edwards Sr., chairman of the Newport Beach-based Edwards Theatres Circuit Inc. chain and dean of family-owned theater operators in California, also maintains that there’s plenty of room for expansion.

“The only way to know when there are too many theaters,” he says, “is when the last one is built.”

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Orange County isn’t the only venue where blockbuster proposals are lining up like moviegoers at the concessions stand.

Competition also is hot in the San Fernando Valley, where AMC recently opened a glitzy cineplex in Woodland Hills that boasts 16 screens and 3,000 seats. Within weeks, Pacific Theatres followed with plans for a 26-screen megaplex in Chatsworth. And days after that announcement, Edwards weighed in with preliminary plans for a 20- to 24-screen theater at the Northridge Fashion Center.

In fact, the bigger-is-better trend “is not unique to Southern California,” said Daniel Wheatcroft, president of the Los Angeles-based National Assn. of Theater Owners of California and Nevada. “It’s happening around the nation with different theater circuits.”

Theater owners say they’re simply giving moviegoers what they want by outfitting theaters with state-of-the-art projection booths, curved screens that enhance picture clarity and multitrack sound systems that incorporate digital technology.

They’re courting moviegoers with a bevy of creature comforts, including love seats where couples can snuggle, massive snack bars offering everything from cappuccino to deli sandwiches, wider aisles and stadium-style seating that makes for improved sight lines.

The lion’s share of new screens will be reserved for the hottest new films. At a 22-screen complex, for example, any number of screens could be reserved for the big new film, meaning that the new hit could be screened more frequently.

That wealth of screens is an alluring thought for studio executives whose fortunes are tied to opening potential blockbusters on as many screens as possible.

“All of these screens would change the dynamics noticeably,” Krier said. “When you’ve got a hit like ‘Mission Impossible,’ you want to get it on as many screens as possible, so if you can put it on six or eight screens at a cineplex rather than two or three, you’ve got the potential for greater grosses.”

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Less certain, though, is what cinema operators will be screening when there’s a shortage of blockbusters.

“Let’s face it,” one film industry executive said, “February and March typically aren’t the time when you’ve got several products out there that are going to draw hundreds of millions in revenue during the first few weeks after opening.”

There’s also the potentially thorny question of what happens to a megaplex that gets overpowered by a neighboring megaplex.

Despite the questions, theater owners say they’re sold on the idea of megacomplexes.

“We’ve looked at the theaters very carefully and feel that anything we build from this point forward--including the three we recently announced in Anaheim, the San Fernando Valley and Fresno--will be in the 20- to 26-screen range,” said Chan Wood, vice president of Los Angeles-based Pacific Theatres.

“We’ll continue to build smaller complexes in less-populated areas,” Syufy said. “But in larger markets, these seem to be the wave of the future. You’re seeing all of the companies, including Edwards in Irvine, do the same types of things.”

The industry’s move toward multiscreen theaters is getting boffo reviews from cash-strapped municipal officials in Southern California. Browse through a given city’s economic development plan and chances are very good that it will include a big cinema complex.

Movie tickets typically aren’t taxed and the tax dollars generated by the snack bar at an eight-plex won’t usually match what a busy fast-food restaurant generates.

But the real value of a megaplex is “as an anchor tenant or magnet for consumers,” said Laguna Niguel City Manager Tim Casey. “They benefit the rest of our merchants, retailers and restaurateurs by drawing customers to the businesses that generate 99% of our sales tax revenue.”

That’s why municipal leaders are carefully monitoring the Irvine Entertainment Center, which uses a 21-screen theater complex to draw consumers to its collection of restaurants and shops.

Not surprisingly, several of the new theater complexes being proposed in Orange County are being packaged as anchors for similar entertainment centers.

Mills Corp., a Washington-based developer, envisions a 30-screen theater complex as a powerful magnet for its proposed center in Orange, which would be filled with discount-oriented stores, restaurants, nightclubs and health clubs.

And, two projects proposed for dormant drive-in theaters also are top-heavy with entertainment, restaurants and retail.

Pacific Theatres has announced plans for a 26-screen, 5,500 seat theater at the site of the now-closed Anaheim Drive-In on Lemon Street at the Riverside Freeway. Century Theatres envisions a similar project at the now-closed Stadium Drive-In on Katella Avenue.

Also jumping into the fray are AMC, which recently unveiled a plan to expand its 10-screen theater in Fullerton to include 20 screens and 4,300 seats. Edwards said he’s now in negotiations that could result in 22 screens at a pair of nearby locations in Brea.

For filmgoers, the new wave of screens should be as welcome as a tub of hot popcorn and a cold soda.

“Let’s face it, there’s nothing quite like seeing a movie in a theater on a big screen with quadraphonic sound and all the bells and whistles,” said Ron Thronson, a film instructor and dean of the Chapman University School of Communications.

Thronson hopes that the proposed wave of new screens will give theater operators enough room on the silver screen for critically acclaimed movies that are bounced when they fail to ignite box office sales.

“I missed ‘Fargo’ when it was in theaters because it was only playing at two theaters nearby and suddenly, it was gone,” Thronson said. “If this trend toward more screens means these films will stick around longer, then I applaud it.”

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Screen Scene

Plans have been unveiled for these new North County cineplexes:

1. Edwards Theatres Circuit: 453 Associated Road, Brea. Will expand presence in Brea to 22 screens from 10. Details being negotiated.

2. AMC: 1001 S. Lemon St., Fullerton. The 10-plex will be upgraded to 20 screens.

3. Pacific Theatres: 1520 N. Lemon Ave., Anaheim. A 26-screen, 5,500-seat cineplex at Anaheim Drive-In Theatre site.

4. Century Theatres: 1501 W. Katella Ave., Orange. A 24-plex at the Stadium Drive-In Theatre site.

5. The City Shopping Center: 1 The City Blvd., Orange. A 30-screen complex has been proposed by Washington-based developer Mills Corp. Theater chain not selected yet, but AMC will operate a 30-screen theater at sister mall in Ontario, which opens in November.