By Carl DiOrio 1 hour, 46 minutes ago
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) -
Get ready for the $35
movie ticket.
That's the estimated price of tickets for a new deluxe
cinema to open this year in suburban Chicago, one of 50 U.S.
multiplexes set for construction during the next five years
through a new $200 million joint venture headed by Australian
entertainment conglomerate Village Roadshow.
The theaters will boast boosted amenities, including plush
reserved seating, special parking privileges and upscale food
and beverage offerings with seat-side waiter service.
Some or all of those offerings are already available at
deluxe cinemas in select U.S. markets that charge $20 or less
for movie tickets. But Gold Class auditoriums will feature a
40-seat-maximum patron capacity and an even higher-end
atmosphere, officials said Tuesday.
"It's an absolutely different environment than anything
else that exists," Village Roadshow CEO Graham Burke said.
In addition to the cinema in the wealthy Chicago suburb of
South Barrington, Village Roadshow Gold Class Cinemas plans to
open a site in Redmond, Wash., home of Microsoft Corp, by
year's end. About 20 additional sites are planned for rollout
by 2010.
"The demand for luxury moviegoing in the U.S. is very
strong," said Kirk Senior, CEO of the new Burbank-based joint
venture.
Companies partnering with Village Roadshow in the joint
venture include Act III Entertainment, a company co-owned by
Norman Lear and Hal Gaba; Michael Lambert's Lambert
Entertainment; and the Retirement Systems of Alabama, a pension
investment fund.
Village Roadshow operates more than 100 Gold Class screens
in Australia, Singapore and Greece, part of its roughly
500-screen worldwide theater circuit.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
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