Movie Theaters

[nj829]

Being somewhat new in the area still, I have noticed that there are already several existing movie theater's, and now there are at least 2 big one's being added. Does anyone know if there are others shutting down? Just seems like overkill to have 2 12 screens being built in addition to the one over by Old Navy in Rogers.

[OnDickson]

I can't speak for the Rogers area theaters, but in Fayetteville the new Malco 12 will replace the existing Razorback 6 cinema. The Razorback 6 building on N. College has all ready been sold by Malco. As for the current Malco twin at the NWA Mall, nothing official has been released, but it wouldn't make much sense to operate the theaters in such close proximity. Appparently the NWA mall all ready has plans to convert that space into more retail shops/restaurants, etc.

It will be interesting to see if Regal (Fiesta Square 16) answers the call and upgrades/relocates their dated facilities. It's a shame that Fayetteville's theaters deterriorated to the point where we are now. Even after the completion of the new Malco our theater facilities will still be lacking when compared to other cities of similar size (especially thriving college cities). It's often been rumored that Malco has been 'punishing' Fayetteville for 2 decades because they have to compete with Regal here by evenly splitting the newly released movies with them (they have some agreement between them stipulating how they will divide they movies to avoid competing directly with each other). I guess it makes sense that they wouldn't be real eager to pump a lot of money into Fayetteville when they essentially have a monoply in most of the other places they are located.

[strmchsr77]

That is the bad thing about Fayetteville. Just as it has been for the past few decades, all of the first run theaters are located within a few miles of each other. If 2 or more first run theaters are located within a five mile radius, then they must split movies. It is not always 50/50, because some movie companies want their film played in the most updated theaters. So expect to only see some of the movies in THX w/ stadium seating over the next few years. Unless Regal was to build a new stadium seating theater off of I-540 near the Wedington or 6th street exit. Then they would both be able to play the same movie at the same time.

Rogers on the other hand is going to have 3 stadium seating theaters (unless something has changed). The Malco at Scottdale, the new Malco at Pleasant Crossing, and I do remember hearing about an AMC theater at Pennicle Hills or somewhere. If you ask me, there is really no need for Rogers to have more than 2 different theaters or more than 24 screens. I guess since Bentonville/Lowell have none and with just one in Bella Vista, someone must really think the people in Benton County love movies. Also, I have no idea how far apart each theater is from another, but I would have to say less than 5 miles all together, so they will be possibly spliting movies anyway.

[Mith242]

I can't speak for the Rogers area theaters, but in Fayetteville the new Malco 12 will replace the existing Razorback 6 cinema. The Razorback 6 building on N. College has all ready been sold by Malco. As for the current Malco twin at the NWA Mall, nothing official has been released, but it wouldn't make much sense to operate the theaters in such close proximity. Appparently the NWA mall all ready has plans to convert that space into more retail shops/restaurants, etc.

It will be interesting to see if Regal (Fiesta Square 16) answers the call and upgrades/relocates their dated facilities. It's a shame that Fayetteville's theaters deterriorated to the point where we are now. Even after the completion of the new Malco our theater facilities will still be lacking when compared to other cities of similar size (especially thriving college cities). It's often been rumored that Malco has been 'punishing' Fayetteville for 2 decades because they have to compete with Regal here by evenly splitting the newly released movies with them (they have some agreement between them stipulating how they will divide they movies to avoid competing directly with each other). I guess it makes sense that they wouldn't be real eager to pump a lot of money into Fayetteville when they essentially have a monoply in most of the other places they are located.

I certainly agree with you there. I've had a hard time believing what our theater options have been here for years. I'm not holding my breath on Regal either. They renovated not that many years ago. Instead of quality they went for shoving in as many small theaters as they could in that space. I've had too many bad experiances there to ever go back again. I don't have anything against the Razorback 6 but I've just gotten to the point that if I want to see a movie I want to see it in a good setting with good equipment. So I've had to go all the way to Rogers or just wait for it to come out on dvd.

[Mith242]

I can't speak on all the Rogers theaters ver well since I'm not as familiar with that area. To me there seems like plenty of distance between the current theater and the one being built in the south part of town. I'm not sure about the third one. Maybe the existing one can cater more to the Bentonville and northern Benton County area.

[masons_dad1]

There are days when the Malco at Scottsdale Center is packed and there are days the parking lot is nearly empty, so I wouldn't say people in Benton County go to the movies any more than people in Washington County. Most major movies are sold out the first weekend as is the case in most theatres across the country. I'm not sure if 2 more large theatres in Rogers are going to do much business, but it will be nice to go see a new release and it's not sold out.

My family in Florida and Dallas were surprised to find out that we have so many video stores in NWA, until they realize we have very little else to do up here. It only makes sense that a metro with little to no tourism is going to have plenty of movie theatres and video stores to keep people's minds off the fact that there's hardly anything else to do.

[Mith242]

I think there are things to do, I think it has more to do with everyone's own interests and such. I certainly won't argue that there isn't improvement to be made. There's still many areas that the area could use. I really like having some of the state parks, the Ozark National Forest and the Buffalo National River basically at our backdoor. But if someone wasn't much on outdoor activities I do suppose they might feel a bit wanting for more entertainment options.

[mcheiss]

Rogers on the other hand is going to have 3 stadium seating theaters (unless something has changed). The Malco at Scottdale, the new Malco at Pleasant Crossing, and I do remember hearing about an AMC theater at Pennicle Hills or somewhere. If you ask me, there is really no need for Rogers to have more than 2 different theaters or more than 24 screens. I guess since Bentonville/Lowell have none and with just one in Bella Vista, someone must really think the people in Benton County love movies. Also, I have no idea how far apart each theater is from another, but I would have to say less than 5 miles all together, so they will be possibly spliting movies anyway.

The AMC at Pinnacle Promenade changed to a Malco a little over a year ago. The Malco at Pleasant Crossing is going to wait until 2007 to 2008 to open, due to Rogers having so many theatres. This is the one that's suppose to get an IMAX Theatre as well.

There is also the Sugar Creek 10 in Bella Vista. We used to have a Regal 6 as well in Rogers at the Old Frisco Mall, but it closed due to competition with Malco.

[strmchsr77]

The AMC at Pinnacle Promenade changed to a Malco a little over a year ago. The Malco at Pleasant Crossing is going to wait until 2007 to 2008 to open, due to Rogers having so many theatres. This is the one that's suppose to get an IMAX Theatre as well.

There is also the Sugar Creek 10 in Bella Vista. We used to have a Regal 6 as well in Rogers at the Old Frisco Mall, but it closed due to competition with Malco.

Thanks for the update mcheiss. For some reason, I either had forgotten about the AMC becoming a Malco or just never put it together.

I remember Rogers having the Regal back in the 90s, and they also had a Malco Twin.

The 16 screen Regal in Fayetteville was once the Cobb 10 before Regal bought the company out in the mid 90s then added 6 screens in 1997. There was also once a Malco across the street from Fiesta Square near the corner of Rolling Hills and College, but I don't remember when it closed. I would guess Early 90s or before.

And the reason I know too much about the theaters in Fayetteville is because I managed the Razorback 6 during the mid to late 90s, and even back then there were rumors of Malco building a big new theater in town. It only took them 10 years to get started...

[masons_dad1]

I think there are things to do, I think it has more to do with everyone's own interests and such. I certainly won't argue that there isn't improvement to be made. There's still many areas that the area could use. I really like having some of the state parks, the Ozark National Forest and the Buffalo National River basically at our backdoor. But if someone wasn't much on outdoor activities I do suppose they might feel a bit wanting for more entertainment options.

There's plenty of local things to do, but nothing that you won't find in any other town in America. I'm talking about tourist attractions like beaches, theme parks, zoos, aquariums, presidential libraries and such. Even Beaver Lake isn't considered worthy of any recreation other than fishing. We do have nearby access to some of the best outdoor recreation of the southern states, but still nothing as famous as Yosemite or Grand Canyon that are huge tourist draws.

I'm just saying that if you go to a city that has any of those tourist attractions you're going to find less movie theatres and video stores.

[Mith242]

There's plenty of local things to do, but nothing that you won't find in any other town in America. I'm talking about tourist attractions like beaches, theme parks, zoos, aquariums, presidential libraries and such. Even Beaver Lake isn't considered worthy of any recreation other than fishing. We do have nearby access to some of the best outdoor recreation of the southern states, but still nothing as famous as Yosemite or Grand Canyon that are huge tourist draws.

I'm just saying that if you go to a city that has any of those tourist attractions you're going to find less movie theatres and video stores.

The scenery is nice in the area but yeah there isn't anything magnificent like the Grand Canyon around. But there's not much we can do about that. I've said it before but I'm going to say it again. I still wish they'd just go ahead and add on to the Buffalo National River and make it a full fledged National Park. But anyway, I do wish we had some stuff like an aquarium or a zoo. I do believe there are some beaches along Beaver Lake, but they aren't going to be what you're probably looking for if you've lived in Florida. The best you're going to get will probably be Lake Ouachita near Hot Springs.

[masons_dad1]

The scenery is nice in the area but yeah there isn't anything magnificent like the Grand Canyon around. But there's not much we can do about that. I've said it before but I'm going to say it again. I still wish they'd just go ahead and add on to the Buffalo National River and make it a full fledged National Park. But anyway, I do wish we had some stuff like an aquarium or a zoo. I do believe there are some beaches along Beaver Lake, but they aren't going to be what you're probably looking for if you've lived in Florida. The best you're going to get will probably be Lake Ouachita near Hot Springs.

I'm happy enough with the recreational and entertainment attractions we do have in NWA, but I do spend more time watching movies than anything else, whereas when I lived in Dallas, St. Petersburg or Los Angeles I don't remember ever renting a video or going to a movie theatre other than the grand opening for Batman however many years ago that was.

As far as the beaches at Beaver Lake, everyone I know has told me they wouldn't swim in Beaver Lake even if they had no other options. I've swam in Beaver Lake and it wasn't that bad but that was several years ago and with all the drought we've been having Beaver Lake has been very mucky. I'll settle for the pool when it opens this summer. Buffalo National River is probably the best outdoor swimming you'll find in the NWA area.

[Mith242]

I'm happy enough with the recreational and entertainment attractions we do have in NWA, but I do spend more time watching movies than anything else, whereas when I lived in Dallas, St. Petersburg or Los Angeles I don't remember ever renting a video or going to a movie theatre other than the grand opening for Batman however many years ago that was.

As far as the beaches at Beaver Lake, everyone I know has told me they wouldn't swim in Beaver Lake even if they had no other options. I've swam in Beaver Lake and it wasn't that bad but that was several years ago and with all the drought we've been having Beaver Lake has been very mucky. I'll settle for the pool when it opens this summer. Buffalo National River is probably the best outdoor swimming you'll find in the NWA area.

As we grow I think we'll eventually start having some more attractions. I guess the biggest thing will be getting them started off. Hopefully it won't take too long into the future before we can get some of these things mentioned going.

[masons_dad1]

As we grow I think we'll eventually start having some more attractions. I guess the biggest thing will be getting them started off. Hopefully it won't take too long into the future before we can get some of these things mentioned going.

I won't get my hopes up but I am looking forward to the new IMAX theatre that will be going into Pleasant Crossing next year. You may not hear people chanting "take me out to the ballgame" for a while but you will hear "take me out to the movies" until then.

[Mith242]

I won't get my hopes up but I am looking forward to the new IMAX theatre that will be going into Pleasant Crossing next year. You may not hear people chanting "take me out to the ballgame" for a while but you will hear "take me out to the movies" until then.

Yeah I really hope that comes through. I used to check out the one in Little Rock every once in a while when I was visiting family near Pine Bluff. But I haven't been in a while now.

[Aporkalypse]

Yeah I really hope that comes through. I used to check out the one in Little Rock every once in a while when I was visiting family near Pine Bluff. But I haven't been in a while now.

It's really cool if you have kids. I used to go to the one in LR a lot but the last year or two I'd rather go see a new film.

Does NWA have an art film theater yet? I think it could support one on or near Dickson.

[mcheiss]

It's really cool if you have kids. I used to go to the one in LR a lot but the last year or two I'd rather go see a new film.

Does NWA have an art film theater yet? I think it could support one on or near Dickson.

I don't think we have an art film theater yet. I'm positive there's none up here in Benton County.

[strmchsr77]

It's really cool if you have kids. I used to go to the one in LR a lot but the last year or two I'd rather go see a new film.

Does NWA have an art film theater yet? I think it could support one on or near Dickson.

They have talked about putting one on Dickson for the past 2 or 3 years. Someone wanted to put some type of Smithsonian (or however you spell it) museum and an art house style theater on the bank of Fayetteville lot. I guess they finally gave up on it.

[mcheiss]

They have talked about putting one on Dickson for the past 2 or 3 years. Someone wanted to put some type of Smithsonian (or however you spell it) museum and an art house style theater on the bank of Fayetteville lot. I guess they finally gave up on it.

I remember the Smithsonsian looking at Fayetteville along with the Aquarium. I don't think they had enough support back than, but with all the residential development in Downtown Fayetteville, plus the population boom, I think it could be supported.

[tim2462]

To me, the Buffalo River is every bit as magnificent, if not more than the Grand Canyon. The Buffalo River is more scenic, and much more accessible. The Grand Canyon is beautiful, but mostly all you can do is walk around and look into the canyon. Not many people are up to the challange to getting to the bottom of it, which is almost a mile deep. At the Buffalo River, you have much more opportunity for recreation.

We have something called "Arkansas' Grand Canyon." It's off of hwy. 7 in Newton County, not far from the Buffalo. It may not compare to the one in AZ, but it's breathtakingly beautiful no less.

The Buffalo River is a national park. It's just in the national river designation. Something unique about Arkansas is that we have the nation's first national river, and the first national park. That should really say something about what we have.

MasonsDad, you should get out and travel the state, you will be surprised at what you'll find. Hot Springs is filled with all of the family attractions you are looking for, including a theme park...which has some great roller coasters. There is also a water park in the theme park. Lake Ouachita, Lake Hamilton, Lake DeGray, and Lake Catherine are all in or within a few miled of Hot Springs. These are the most beautiful lakes in the state. Have you been to Hot Springs? If not, you'll find tha it is loaded with things to do. You also need to come down to Little Rock, we have tons of attractions you and your family would enjoy. Central Arkansas is a very nice area. We are lucky to have the scenic booming metros of Little Rock and Hot Springs so close together.

You should get over and see the Buffalo and all of it's majesty.

The middle and lower ends of the river are the best. The upper end is scenic, but lower water and not as accessible. Buffalo Point is my favorite point on the river. Tyler Bend is nice as well. Then you have Rush, the ghost town that's neat to explore. Then there's Blanchard Springs Caverns, the most beautfil caverns in North America.

There aren't many cities that have huge attractions like you mentioned.

Some are lucky enough to be close to some. Like the Grand Canyon...the closest metro to it is Las Vegas, which is a few hours away.

Of course, the bigger the city, the more their will be to do, but that doesn't mean it's going to have more huge natural tourist attractions.

You will be surprised at all of the great places there are in Arkansas for you to visit within easy driving distance of NWA. Hot Springs is a true gem. It's very urban, mixed with natural beauty, lakes, rivers, and mountains all around. Little Rock is much the same, but with only 1 lake...but you have the Arkansas River for recreation as well. You need to come down to Central Arkansas and let us show you what we have to offer.

Also, there's the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro. That's the only place in the world yo can dig for diamonds. They let you keep what you find. The National Park Service has tried to take the park over many times, but the state has so far been successful in fighting it off. I guess they want to keep it a state park.

Ok, I'm done with this travel brochure. I promise, I do not work for the Arkansas Dept. of Parks and Tourism. LOL

P.S. - For those of you that may not believe that Hot Springs was the first national park, here's an excerpt from the National Park Service website http://www.nps.gov

"Congress established Hot Springs Reservation on April 20, 1832 to protect hot springs flowing from the western slope of Hot Springs Mountain. This makes it the oldest area currently in the National Park System--40 years older than Yellowstone National Park."

[Mith242]

It's really cool if you have kids. I used to go to the one in LR a lot but the last year or two I'd rather go see a new film.

Does NWA have an art film theater yet? I think it could support one on or near Dickson.

Mayor Dan Coody has really been pushing for one. I think he's been trying to get Malco interested but I don't think they have been so far. I've also heard he's trying to get Malco to dedicate one or two screens at the new theater for independant/art films.

[Mith242]

To me, the Buffalo River is every bit as magnificent, if not more than the Grand Canyon. The Buffalo River is more scenic, and much more accessible. The Grand Canyon is beautiful, but mostly all you can do is walk around and look into the canyon. Not many people are up to the challange to getting to the bottom of it, which is almost a mile deep. At the Buffalo River, you have much more opportunity for recreation.

We have something called "Arkansas' Grand Canyon." It's off of hwy. 7 in Newton County, not far from the Buffalo. It may not compare to the one in AZ, but it's breathtakingly beautiful no less.

The Buffalo River is a national park. It's just in the national river designation. Something unique about Arkansas is that we have the nation's first national river, and the first national park. That should really say something about what we have.

MasonsDad, you should get out and travel the state, you will be surprised at what you'll find. Hot Springs is filled with all of the family attractions you are looking for, including a theme park...which has some great roller coasters. There is also a water park in the theme park. Lake Ouachita, Lake Hamilton, Lake DeGray, and Lake Catherine are all in or within a few miled of Hot Springs. These are the most beautiful lakes in the state. Have you been to Hot Springs? If not, you'll find tha it is loaded with things to do. You also need to come down to Little Rock, we have tons of attractions you and your family would enjoy. Central Arkansas is a very nice area. We are lucky to have the scenic booming metros of Little Rock and Hot Springs so close together.

You should get over and see the Buffalo and all of it's majesty.

The middle and lower ends of the river are the best. The upper end is scenic, but lower water and not as accessible. Buffalo Point is my favorite point on the river. Tyler Bend is nice as well. Then you have Rush, the ghost town that's neat to explore. Then there's Blanchard Springs Caverns, the most beautfil caverns in North America.

There aren't many cities that have huge attractions like you mentioned.

Some are lucky enough to be close to some. Like the Grand Canyon...the closest metro to it is Las Vegas, which is a few hours away.

Of course, the bigger the city, the more their will be to do, but that doesn't mean it's going to have more huge natural tourist attractions.

You will be surprised at all of the great places there are in Arkansas for you to visit within easy driving distance of NWA. Hot Springs is a true gem. It's very urban, mixed with natural beauty, lakes, rivers, and mountains all around. Little Rock is much the same, but with only 1 lake...but you have the Arkansas River for recreation as well. You need to come down to Central Arkansas and let us show you what we have to offer.

Also, there's the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro. That's the only place in the world yo can dig for diamonds. They let you keep what you find. The National Park Service has tried to take the park over many times, but the state has so far been successful in fighting it off. I guess they want to keep it a state park.

Ok, I'm done with this travel brochure. I promise, I do not work for the Arkansas Dept. of Parks and Tourism. LOL

P.S. - For those of you that may not believe that Hot Springs was the first national park, here's an excerpt from the National Park Service website http://www.nps.gov

"Congress established Hot Springs Reservation on April 20, 1832 to protect hot springs flowing from the western slope of Hot Springs Mountain. This makes it the oldest area currently in the National Park System--40 years older than Yellowstone National Park."

It's hard for me to compare the Buffalo River and the Grand Canyon, they're so different. As far as the Buffalo River goes what I'd like to see is more land added to the Buffalo National River. There's some other nice areas of Newtown County. I'd also just like to see them officially call it a National Park. I've been to some National Monuments that are nice and in some ways like National Parks but they still seem to be considered lesser to a certain degree by people. I admit I don't know all the details on what constitutes each. White Sands in New Mexico is actually a National Monument not a National Park although many people seem to think it is. I've heard it won't become a National Park because of the military facility nearby and the fact it can't add anymore land to the National Monument. So maybe the size of it has at least some consideration.

[johnnydr87]

The Grand Canyon is very beautiful on a much bigger scale than the Buffalo River. It is the better of the two attractions, in my opinion (and millions of others), but like mith said, they're different types of beauty.

The Grand canyon has the infrastructure and developments to make it a major level attraction. The buffalo river doesn't, and it shouldn't. It's much much smaller.

[dimebag1980]

It will be interesting to see if Regal (Fiesta Square 16) answers the call and upgrades/relocates their dated facilities. It's a shame that Fayetteville's theaters deterriorated to the point where we are now. Even after the completion of the new Malco our theater facilities will still be lacking when compared to other cities of similar size (especially thriving college cities). It's often been rumored that Malco has been 'punishing' Fayetteville for 2 decades because they have to compete with Regal here by evenly splitting the newly released movies with them (they have some agreement between them stipulating how they will divide they movies to avoid competing directly with each other). I guess it makes sense that they wouldn't be real eager to pump a lot of money into Fayetteville when they essentially have a monoply in most of the other places they are located.

Historically speaking, if Regal has a new multiplex within a reasonably close proximity to a smaller, more dated Regal theater, the older one isn't immediately closed but rather switches to showing older movies. If the market doesn't go for that, they'll eventually close.

I'm not saying this scenario will surely play out in your area, but I've seen it time and time again in many of Regal's other markets including my own area.

[Aporkalypse]

Mayor Dan Coody has really been pushing for one. I think he's been trying to get Malco interested but I don't think they have been so far. I've also heard he's trying to get Malco to dedicate one or two screens at the new theater for independant/art films.

In Dallas and Plano there is a new chain called Angelika that is more urban but the theatres there are de novo and very pricy. In lots of places they take historic smaller theatres like the old UA theater on Dickson or Capitol Theatre on Main in Little Rock and revamp them. In Little Rock, though, they took an older pre-stadium seating theatre in a good part of town (Market Square off of Rodney Parham) and modestly renovated it and brought it back to life as an art film theatre. I think either finding an older theater in any of the NWA towns or taking over an older one that is retiring from first-run films because it's outdated might make the most sense but I would bet my bottom dollar NWA could support it. Selling cocktails might dictate it needs to be in Wash Co, though, but I suspect that the Fayetteville artsy crowd would be its major supporters anyhow.