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INTERNATIONAL NEWS BRIEFS<br />
NORTHERN EXPOSURE<br />
Canadian News Notes by Shiomo Schwartzberg<br />
AMC MAKES CANADIAN DEBUT IN TORONTO<br />
AMC's first two Canadian theatres have opened in the Toronto area, officially<br />
confirming the company's presence in the country and challenging the duopoly of the<br />
two major Canadian chains, Famous Players and Loews Cineplex Odeon.<br />
The AMC Winston Churchill in Oakville contains 24 screens and the AMC Kennedy<br />
Commons in Scarborough has 20 screens. Thom Valde, senior vice-president of<br />
operations for AMC Theatres in Canada, admits that his company has an uphill battle<br />
ahead of it to establish a foothold and name recognition in Canada, but insists AMC<br />
is getting most of the films it wants to show. "We have products from the studios<br />
[despite the fact that] we are in competitive zones. But we do not, however, play<br />
Paramount." (Paramount is owned by Viacom, which is also Famous Players' parent<br />
company.) Valde did express regret over not having some of the Thanksgiving films,<br />
having opened the theatres on December 1 8.<br />
AMC's theatres are well-situated, located off major highways-a factor in patrons<br />
noticing the cinemas even as they were being built, according to Valde. "We had lots<br />
and lots of feedback." He also expects AMC to benefit from the unprecedented boom<br />
in new theatres from ail major chains now operating in Canada. Previously, says<br />
Valde, poor facilities were the norm in the country. "You've got to give beopie<br />
somethmg really good to get them to come out of their home. With Famous Players'<br />
new builds, certainly, they've done that." Referring to Famous' new Coliseums and<br />
SilverCity complexes, he adds, "the first indications are that they've raised attendance<br />
dramatically." the new AMCs, with their entertainment centers and multiple screens,<br />
he feels, should "raise [attendance] even more. That's what we're movmg toward.<br />
[We're] glad to be part of that."<br />
FAMOUS SETS EXPANSION STRATEGY INTO MOTION;<br />
PLANS TO HAVE 920 SCREENS BY 2000<br />
Famous Players recently unveiled its new multiplexes, notably<br />
the SilverCity, a C$20 million (US$14.4 million), nine-screen,<br />
65,000-square-foot multiplex in mid-town Toronto and the 3,700-<br />
seat Coliseum in Scarborough. They're part of Famous' largest<br />
expansion in its 78-year history. Six multiplexes alone were<br />
launched over a five-week period in November/December. Famous,<br />
which currently boasts 580 screens, will, by the end of <strong>1999</strong>,<br />
be up to 920 screens.<br />
At a press conference for the new SilverCity, Famous Players<br />
president John Bailey announced some of Famous' other imminent<br />
projects, including Colossus Toronto, to be launched in February<br />
in Vaughn, with the first 3-D IMAX cinema in the province, and,<br />
following in May or June, the 13-screen Festival Hall, also with a<br />
3-D IMAX cinema, in downtown Toronto. In 2000, Famous will<br />
refurbish the long-dark University Theatre in the city center. "We<br />
believe in the bigscreen experience. There are no shoe boxes in<br />
Famous Players,' Bailey said.<br />
Famous also trumpeted the C$8 million (US$5.2 million)<br />
boxoffice for SilverCity Mississauga' s first year of operations, with<br />
the theatre hitting one million admissions on the last day of October.<br />
SilverCity Mississauga is the third-top-grossing cinema in<br />
Canada; Famous' Coliseum Mississauga is number one. "We are<br />
the leader right now in new theatre experiences," said Bailey.<br />
ALLIANCE CINEMAS TO INCREASE ART-HOUSE<br />
PRESENCE ACROSS CANADA<br />
In a joint venture between Famous Players and the newly formed<br />
Alliance/Atlantis, three cinemas in Vancouver and two in Toronto<br />
will herald the beginning of an art film presence on the part of<br />
Famous-turf till now conceded to Cineplex Odeon.<br />
Exhibitor Leonard Schein, president of the new Alliance Cinemas,<br />
sold the Fifth Avenue, Park Theatre and Varsity in Vancouver,<br />
and the Cumberland and Runnymede cinemas in Toronto, formerly<br />
40 BOXOFHCE<br />
part of his Festival chain (named<br />
Lumiere in Toronto so as not to be<br />
confused with another circuit based<br />
there called Festival). He did so to<br />
meet the "challenge of doing art<br />
cinema across the country, to repeat<br />
the success of Fifth Avenue."<br />
The company plans to build or<br />
procure cinemas in Victoria, Edmonton,<br />
Calgary, Ottawa and<br />
Montreal, among other cities in<br />
Canada. Schein expects that the<br />
company will reach 74 screens in<br />
three years.<br />
Though the theatres are owned<br />
by Atlantis/Alliance, which has a<br />
distribution arm, the expected conflict<br />
of interest does not arise, as the<br />
cinemas will show films from all<br />
independent distributors.<br />
CINEPLEX IN HONEYMOON<br />
PHASE WITH NIAGARA FALLS<br />
Cineplex Odeon has announced<br />
a C$9 million (US $6 million), 10-<br />
screen multiplex for the popular<br />
tourist town of Niagara Falls, Ontario.<br />
About 200 jobs will be created by the Niagara Squares<br />
Cinemas, which is slated for a December <strong>1999</strong> opening. Stadiumstyle<br />
seating will be the norm at the complex, which will have<br />
between 165 to 500 seats in each auditorium. The 45,000-squarefoot<br />
theatre will also be wheelchair accessible, will offer assistive<br />
listening devices for hard-of-hearing patrons and will have a 10-<br />
station concession counter, as well as a cafe. "This cinema complex<br />
will feature leading-edge amenities that will change the moviegoing<br />
experience in Niagara Falls forever," says Allen Karp, chairman<br />
and CEO of Cineplex.<br />
TWO FESTIVAL THEATRES CLOSE IN TORONTO;<br />
LACK OF NEIGHBORHOOD SUPPORT CITED AS CAUSE<br />
At the same time that so many new screens and cinemas are<br />
popping up in Toronto, the Festival repertory chain (not to be<br />
confused with the Vancouver circuit of the same name referenced<br />
above) closed two of its eight theatres, citing repeated financial<br />
losses. Tom Litvinskas of Festival told Boxoffice that the Capitol,<br />
taken over by Festival 26 months ago, "didn't get the neighborhood<br />
support [it needed] to cover operating expenses." Keeping it open<br />
would jeopardize Festival's other cinemas, he said. The brand new<br />
SilverCity, just down the block from the Capitol, was also a factor<br />
in the decision to shut the rep house down, said Litvinskas. The<br />
Paradise, run by Festival for a decade, was "the weakest link in the<br />
Bloor West area," which also encompasses Festival's more successful<br />
Bloor cinema. "We still have 5,000 seats in Toronto; that's<br />
enough," he added.<br />
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