AMC Theaters has announced its first newly built theater in 2022 – AMC Dine-In Topanga 12 in Canoga Park – that will open June 2 with the adjustments to exhibition work that has shaken the pandemic.
The launch will follow a day after operations close at the nearby AMC Promenade 16 in Woodland Hills as exhibitors continue to tune in to purses and upgrade theaters if they can.
AMC said this cinema, in partnership with developer Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, is an entertainment mainstay in the expansion of Westfield Topanga & The Village, a former department store. It features Imax formats with lasers and Dolby Cinema and is the latest addition to AMC’s lineup of theaters, a feature that has proven increasingly successful at chains trying to turn movies into nightly events to attract customers. Guests place their orders in the lobby. It will also feature beer, wine, and cocktails – another pervasive selling point in the industry – “in the coming weeks.”
“Over the past two years, AMC has made a significant investment in expanding and enhancing AMC’s movie experience in the Los Angeles market through acquisitions, refurbishments, and new theaters,” said Dan Ellis, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Development. . The new theater has been called “one of our crown jewels, not just in the Los Angeles area, but in the entire country.”
The Los Angeles market was in a state of flux. Hollywood Arklight closed last year. The flagship 12-screen Landmark Pico is closed this month. Landmark Theaters has just entered into a long-term lease agreement for its Playhouse 7 movie home in Pasadena.
Adam Aron, CEO of AMC, said the company plans to continue adding theaters (in addition to high-potential unconventional assets such as its recent investment in Hycroft Mining).
In April, it signed a deal with Bow Tie Cinemas to purchase and operate seven locations in Connecticut, upstate New York and Annapolis, Maryland. Earlier this year, the chain, again with Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, said it was reopening its former ArcLight locations in San Diego and Washington, D.C. Other new openings or acquisitions announced over the past year include AMC Northridge 10 and AMC Newcity 14, AMC Americana in Brand 18, and AMC The Grove 14.