[yyzer]

Jan 17, 2008 07:00 ET

Cineplex Entertainment Announces New SilverCity Theatre at Fairview Shopping Centre in Toronto, Ontario

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Jan. 17, 2008) - Cineplex Entertainment (TSX:CGX.UN) is pleased to announce the development of a new nine-screen SilverCity theatre to open in Toronto, Ontario. Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2008 with a targeted opening in late fall. Located on the north-eastern corner of Don Mills Road and Sheppard Avenue inside the newly renovated Fairview Shopping Centre, the theatre will occupy approximately 54,000 square feet of space and will offer a first class entertainment experience.

"We are always excited to announce a new theatre and Cineplex Entertainment is particularly thrilled to be announcing this new project located at one of the premiere shopping centres in Toronto," said Pat Marshall, Vice President Communications and Investor Relations, Cineplex Entertainment. "This new theatre will offer area residents and shoppers the best entertainment options available," said Marshall. "With more than 2,000 luxury high back seats, the complex will feature the latest in digital film presentation and digital sound technologies."

Fairview Mall is currently in the midst of an impressive $84 million redevelopment project to modernize the property and offer an even wider selection of trendy retailers. Kevin Gray, General Manager for Fairview Mall says, "The new SilverCity theatre will be a perfect complement to our property and the exciting changes that are underway at Fairview. We believe that this will offer an enhanced customer experience and yet another reason why people will make Fairview their first choice retail destination."

The new theatre will feature all stadium seating, wall-to-wall, giant, curved screens; large, luxurious seats with ample legroom; Digital DLP projection systems and Dolby Digital Surround Sound. The spacious lobby will feature a Family Entertainment Centre that can be accessed without a movie ticket. The refreshment selection is very broad and will include all the standard movie fare including popcorn, soft drinks and a variety of other offerings sure to satisfy everyone's appetite.

About Fairview Mall

A three-time International Council of Shopping Centres award winner, Fairview Mall is a one million square foot shopping centre located in Toronto at the northeast corner of Don Mills Road and Sheppard Avenue. Featuring more than 165 different retailers, the property is managed by the Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited and is a 50/50 joint venture with Ivanhoe Cambridge Inc. For more information, please visit www.fairviewmall.ca.

About Cineplex Entertainment LP:

Cineplex Entertainment LP owns leases or has a joint-venture interest in 131 theatres with 1,327 screens serving approximately 60 million guests annually. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Cineplex Entertainment LP is the largest motion picture exhibitor in Canada operating the following brands: Cineplex Odeon, Galaxy, Famous Players, Coliseum, Colossus, SilverCity, Cinema City and Scotiabank Theatres. The units of Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund, which owns approximately 75.7% of Cineplex Entertainment LP, are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (symbol CGX.UN). For more information, visit www.cineplex.com.

 

[Littlefinger]

Is this going to be a completely new construction or just a renovation of the existing Rainbow Cinemas? It had always seemed odd to me why one of Toronto's major suburban malls did not have a first-class cinema.

 

[interchange42]

The Rainbow Cinemas (which closed on Friday, January 11, 2008) were originally an Odeon (then Cineplex) location way back when...

They can be construed as being in the "north-eastern corner", so maybe they are being rebuilt in that spot. There were eight screens in there. With nine coming in, and stadium seating, they have a big job ahead on this...

42

 

[CDL.TO]

The Rainbow Cinemas (which closed on Friday, January 11, 2008) were originally an Odeon (then Cineplex) location way back when.

Did Rainbow get the boot to make way for Cineplex? I would suspect so. It seems to be the nasty dark side of shopping malls: eliminating competition by terminating the lease of "less desirable" tenants in order to attract new tenants that are "more in line with the mall owner's vision for the mall". Rainbow takes a chance by cleaning up and reopening a cinema that Cineplex abandoned, proves that it's a viable location, and Cineplex scoops it right back up again.

St. Catharines, a city-region of over 150,000 now has no Cineplex/Famous Players cinema because the owners of Fairview Mall (ironic?) decided that a Winners/Home Sense was "more in line with their vision for the mall".

 

[interchange42]

Did Rainbow get the boot to make way for Cineplex?

Yes.

It seems to be the nasty dark side of shopping malls: eliminating competition by terminating the lease of "less desirable" tenants in order to attract new tenants that are "more in line with the mall owner's vision for the mall". Rainbow takes a chance by cleaning up and reopening a cinema that Cineplex abandoned, proves that it's a viable location, and Cineplex scoops it right back up again.

It helps that the subway goes to Fairview now. Can I assume that has helped rejuvenate the mall and spurred on the $84M overhaul of it? Anyway, yeah, Rainbow's getting screwed here, but the cinemas were pretty unappealing, and I see why the mall owners want them replaced.

St. Catharines, a city-region of over 150,000 now has no Cineplex/Famous Players cinema because the owners of Fairview Mall (ironic?) decided that a Winners/Home Sense was "more in line with their vision for the mall".

Wow. Cineplex must be working on a new location for that city. Maybe the big box area up by 406/Louth/4th?

42

 

[Cast_Member]

Having to been to Silvercity Oakville myself, newer Silvercities will not have the aesthetics of a Famous Players theatre and more like Cineplex Odeon. This theatre will make up the lost of Silvercity Empress Walk that they sold to Empire Theatres because Cineplex doesn't want to do business with Pizza Hut and building problems (e.g. fire alarms going off).

 

[Cast_Member]

Rainbow takes a chance by cleaning up and reopening a cinema that Cineplex abandoned, proves that it's a viable location, and Cineplex scoops it right back up again.

Not a big one and the current cinemas still look like if it is 1988 again. Cineplex has the big budget to modernize the cinemas unlike Rainbow and Cadillac Fairview knows it.

 

[scarberiankhatru]

It helps that the subway goes to Fairview now. Can I assume that has helped rejuvenate the mall and spurred on the $84M overhaul of it? Anyway, yeah, Rainbow's getting screwed here, but the cinemas were pretty unappealing, and I see why the mall owners want them replaced.

Not just the subway - Scarborough Town Centre has expanded and renovated since the late 90s, luring more mallrats, while Yorkdale did the same in the 00s, luring more $hopper$. If memory serves me correctly, Fairview's last big reno was finished in the early 90s, so now's the time for them to change, especially since their food court was getting gross and since Yorkdale and STC are only a few minutes away along the 401...competition between malls is endless!

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

The Rainbow Cinemas (which closed on Friday, January 11, 2008) were originally an Odeon (then Cineplex) location way back when...

They can be construed as being in the "north-eastern corner", so maybe they are being rebuilt in that spot. There were eight screens in there. With nine coming in, and stadium seating, they have a big job ahead on this...

42

And even further way back when, Odeon Theatres had a cinema in the basement at the north end of the mall which was split down the middle into two theatres in the mid 70's. My first Star Wars experience was in there watching it on a screen slightly bigger than what sits in my living room now.

 

[marcus_a_j]

The Rainbow theatres was located above the food court with escalators going up from there. With the new renovations, the food court was relocated to the lower level by the east escalators. I am guessing that the old food court will be the lobby for the new theatre and the current theatre space will be totally reconfigured to allow for entrances to the new, larger screens and seating to be on the same floor as the lobby.

I like the idea of Digital DLP projection in all screens. When I was a projectionist at Galaxy in Waterloo we had one of the first DLP projectors in Canada and it was amazing. The quality of the picture on screen and the sound are great. You won't see scratches or dirt nor will the film burn up. The costs of the projectors are significantly higher than 35 mm projectors (at least they were 3 years ago when I last worked there) but savings will be saved since projectionists will not be staffed. I do not know the costs of getting a digital copy of a movie as opposed to 35 mm prints.

The Cineplex Odeon that was here before closed down when many other COs closed down in the late 90s. The large theatres like the SilverCity's and AMC's took over CO struggled w/o their own large style theatres.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

The cost to copy a movie to digital media and to ship it on an encrypted hard drive or DVD discs vs. 35MM film is a fraction of the cost. Converting the projection equipment is where the hard costs are. Conversion costs are a challenge because neither the distributors or the exhibitors want to pay for it so digital projection sits in limbo.

 

[TJ O'Pootertoot]

And even further way back when, Odeon Theatres had a cinema in the basement at the north end of the mall which was split down the middle into two theatres in the mid 70's. My first Star Wars experience was in there watching it on a screen slightly bigger than what sits in my living room now.

Same here!

Anyway, there were only 6 theatres up there and only 2 of them were large theatres. I can't imagine how they can turn that space into a 9-screeen Silver City - it must be new construction or at least a substantial addition to that level above the food court.

 

[MisterF]

Wow. Cineplex must be working on a new location for that city. Maybe the big box area up by 406/Louth/4th?

42

Too bad more of these theatres don't pick downtown locations. The Galaxy in Peterborough is downtown, at the corner of Water and Charlotte, and it works wonders for streetlife in that area.

 

[CDL.TO]

Good point, MisterF. A new theatre in downtown St. Catharines would undoubtedly provide some great help to the neighbourhood, and I think the same would hold true for a lot of Ontario downtowns.

 

[lordmandeep]

that is why i think AMC will really help dundas square...