Mega-Star Cinemas has two 16-screen theaters under construction at Arbor Lakes in Maple Grove, MN, and Southdale Center in Edina, MN, while Crown Theater is building a 17-screen complex in Downtown Minneapolis as part of Block E and AMC is building an 18-screen theater in Eden Prairie Center in Eden Prairie, MN.
In 1998, the Twin Cities saw 108 new screens added to the market, a more than 42% increase in total movie screens, according to Colliers Towle. Many of the new screens were of the megaplex variety, with stadium seating, enhanced audio and video and the works. The trend continued in 1999, as 144 more screens were added to the market or were under construction.
In 1997, the Twin Cities were among the mid-sized cities with the fourth-lowest ratio of people to screens with 10,780 people for every movie screen. Last year, it had move to third, with 7,221 people per screen.
The industry represented all the classic symptoms of an over-building cycle, Colliers Towle says: Overly abundant capital, new theater technology and design, and shifting population growth trends. "In the summer of 2000, we started seeing a slowly developing train wreck in the theater development game," the report says.
First, Tennessee-based Regal Cinemas put several projects on hold. Then Loew's Cineplex revealed financial troubles. That trend continues today, with most of the major movie theater chains reorganizing in bankruptcy court.
Officials at the National Association of Theater Owners in Hollywood, CA, believe that the industry will see an additional 30% reduction in the number of screens over the next few years.
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