I've known for a while that Warren is planning to build a smaller, more upscale theater in a new center to be constructed on on the southwest corner of the Kilpatrick Turnpike and N. Eastern.
I'll add more in a minute, as I'm in a meeting.
.
I've known for a while that Warren is planning to build a smaller, more upscale theater in a new center to be constructed on on the southwest corner of the Kilpatrick Turnpike and N. Eastern.
I'll add more in a minute, as I'm in a meeting.
.
The theater is to be part of a larger development called Eastern Ridge.
There will be more retail but lots of office as well. The site is challenging due to various creeks.
The property was recently purchased by the Chickasaws and I believe it will be developed on their behalf by Sooner Investments, the same group doing the Warren in Midwest City.
Sooner is also the developer of massive University Town Center in Norman (NE corner of I-35 and Robinson) and they are doing that project while OU actually owns the land.
They typically do really nice work as do the Chickasaws.
This project is actually in Oklahoma City and my understanding is that they have been working on financial incentives, as they did in Moore and Midwest City.
Warren first considered other sites including one near Memorial & Santa Fe before deciding on this location.
The AMC theater at Quail Springs has a 3-mile radius where competing theaters cannot operate, which is why Warren originally looked at going to MacArthur and Memorial before switching their focus to sites closer to Edmond but outside that 3-mile distance.
This project was originally to be a residential development with large lots but after putting in several streets the owners sold off to the Chickasaws.
First screen rights would be my guess. Other theaters can go in, but they can't show the newest movies. AMC is notorious for having deals with the major studios to be the sole screener in an area for X weeks. Warren ran into the same issue down in Norman before going to Moore because the Hollywood theater wouldn't sell their first screen rights, then decided to ask for an insane amount of money, which made Warren pick Moore and the Hollywood crumbled instantly.
Exactly. They're called ‘clearance agreements’, and AMC, Regal, and Cinemark all have them with the studios, and they limit the number of screenings movies from the major studios can have in certain regions. So if you're a small, independent theatre, you're out of luck.
Looks like Channel 9 is going to have a story about this at 6PM.
Sweet, I considered the Warren more upscale relative to other theatres in OKC. Second only to the renovated AMC's
Basically in my backyard! Woot!
I would think between this and the showbiz cinemas, Kickingbird in Edmond would have a hard time staying open.
Pete is there an ETA on completion? If you have never been, Warren is just a great experience. I'm the tight a$$ at our house, and wouldn't pony up the $ to sit in the balcony/dinner area until my wife made me. Its not pretty much were we sit most of the time now. Food is pretty decent as well.
Do you think this Warren Theatre will be like theatres such as Studio Movie Grill, Alamo Drafthouse, Movie Tavern, etc....where the entire theatre is like the balcony at the Warren?
It's one of the things I've enjoyed about living in DFW the last few years. You don't have to pay extra to have the "balcony" experience at SMG, Alamo, or Movie Tavern because the entire theatre has waiter service.
Yes.
My understanding is that the theaters will be smaller but will have more amenities and be different than anything Warren has done before.
Not sure of the exact details but you can tell by the footprint and relatively small amount of parking that this will be quite different than Moore or even MWC.
I was trying to do a little research on all their different theatres and the smallest I saw was a 7 screen one in Whicita that had full service for all the screnes, I believe. If it's something similar to that then it will really fill a need for the north side for a nicer movie experience that really only Penn sqaure provides to an extent.
It’s not that they can’t be next to each other, but AMC would likely get first pick as the larger chain. This happens in Tulsa where there’s a 20 screen AMC across the street from a 12 Screen Regal Theater in Promenade Mall at 41st and Yale. The two theaters never show the same movies.
I've wondered what would happen if the studios called the chains' bluff. I mean, would AMC really not carry the biggest blockbusters because they didn't have exclusivity?
I'm assuming this project is dead?
I don't understand what the financial incentive is for the studios to agree to the exclusivity deals. Doesn't a studio want their film on more screens so it has the possibility to sell more tickets?
They're pretty much forced into it. This goes back a while s. AMC theater alone has 10,000 screens world wide. Cinemark has about 5k. Regal has over 7000. So if you're a studio and you want wide release, and these 3 chains say they want clearance agreements, it's hard to say "no".
City Council just voted to approve this project despite hours of protest from nearby residents.
I honestly have a hard time feeling bad for people who are angry that their neighborhood inside the city limits is turning too much into a city.
Yeah, it is very frustrating, especially since it seems to be the developments that will be unique and beneficial for OKC as a whole (like the Classen Curve expansion) that seem to get the most NIMBY opposition.
Good to hear it was approved though. I really like the Moore Warren but I dislike driving to Moore.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Bookmarks