Sarika Jagtiani

The News Journal

When "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" came out in December 2012, the Penn Cinema Riverfront had just opened, offering Middle Earth in IMAX to area viewers.

When the second "Hobbit" movie, "The Desolation of Smaug," came out a year later, fans could see it on another huge screen with the opening of Westown Movies in Middletown.

And when the final installment of the trilogy, "The Battle of the Fire Armies," arrives in December, there will be yet another colossal screen on which to see Bilbo, Smaug and the rest of the gang.

With the opening of the Cinemark Christiana and XD on Nov. 20, the state will have welcomed three new theaters in as many years.

All with massive screens and top-of-the-line sound systems.

All with comfier seats than those old itchy, squeaky ones.

And all serving alcohol.

Well, not yet.

The bill allowing alcohol to be sold in theaters was signed into law in July, so you could soon carry a cold one instead of a soda to your seat.

Changes like these are making new theater owners confident they can draw people away from their couches and Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon streaming services.

"If you have nice, new theaters that are run well, people will tend to go to the movies more often," says Rick Roman of Roman Theatre Management, Westown's Ohio-based theater manager. "You have to create the night-out experience."

That was the goal for the new Cinemark at Christiana Mall, which will bring an entertainment element to the complex for the first time in more than a decade.

Long-time residents will remember Christiana Mall's former movie theater, run by General Cinema. That theater closed with the company in the early 2000s. Although the company was bought by AMC Entertainment, the theater remained shuttered and was demolished in 2008.

So with the opening of the Cinemark Christiana and XD, shoppers will once again be able to escape the hectic holiday scene for a couple of hours in the dark, sans cellphones.

The theater is across the parking lot from Nordstrom and next to the outdoors wonderland Cabela's. Cinemark Marketing Manager Madelyn Rybczyk says the high-traffic area is a good fit for the 12-screen theater that opens just in time for "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1."

Rybczyk says customers expect an immersive experience at the movies. They want all digital, surround sound – things they can't have by watching on their smartphones.

At the new theater they'll get the Cinemark XD: Extreme Digital experience. That means one theater with wall-to-wall and a ceiling-to-floor screen. All the theaters will have 4K digital projection with RealD 3-D capability.

Marketing Director Bryan Jeffries says they're not worried about nearby competition from more-established Westown Movies, which boasts a GTX Theatre with Dolby Atmos Sound System, and Penn Cinema Riverfront IMAX.

"It probably is a head start for letting customers know what kind of experience they can expect," he says.

The first entry to the new wave of theaters was the Penn Cinema Riverfront IMAX, which opened in 2012 with the help of Penn Ketchum, managing partner and co-founder.

Ketchum says he saw a hole in the market and decided to enter it.

So far, it's paid off.

In the Philadelphia market, his two theaters – the other is in Lititz, Pennsylvania – were the two highest-grossing independently owned theaters in the market.

"We do business like the big boys," he says.

When he talks to people in the industry, they expect him to own a Mayberry-style theater. Not one with a 75- by 45-foot IMAX screen.

"When you talk to an independent theater owner, he owns a cute little theater with two screens and a house dog that walks up and down the aisles," he says.

Not on the Riverfront. The theater boasts 14 auditoriums, one of which has IMAX, relaxed faux leather chairs and stadium seating.

According to Ketchum's math, the Philadelphia movie market was down about 30 percent in 2014. His theater was down 15 percent. He thinks that without the IMAX draw, it would have been more.

People like to predict where the movie business is going, but Ketchum thinks only one thing really matters: The movies.

"People like to read the tea leaves, but really, I am 100 percent convinced that the only thing that matters is if there are good movies."

Roman agrees that people will always come out to see a film on the big screen. When they have theaters with the latest technology and creature comforts, that is.

THEATER BASICS

The holiday movie season is about to explode. If you're trying to decide where to see your next movie, check out what you can expect from each of the state's newest theaters.

Westown Movies

150 Commerce Drive, Middletown; (302) 378-2436, www.westownmovies.com

Date opened: December 2013

Advanced technology: GTX Theatre with Dolby Atmos Sound System

Biggest screen: Over 61 feet tall

Concessions: Some from local vendors, with a self-serve element.

Special events: The theater prides itself on being family friendly. It offers sensory-friendly movies as well as mommies, daddies and babies screenings, where soothing a crying infant is not shunned.

Penn Cinema Riverfront IMAX

401 S. Madison St., Wilmington; (302) 656-4314, www.penncinema.com

Date opened: December 2012

Advanced technology: IMAX

Biggest screen: 75-by-45 feet

Concessions: All the regular goodies, including butter-your-own popcorn, soda and candy.

Special events: The theater hosts a Monday Night Movie series that features new classics. At last week's showing of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," about 150 customers showed up, says Penn Ketchum. Coming up are "Planes, Trains and Automobiles," "Gone With the Wind," "Airplane" and "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." See the lineup at www.penncinema.com.

Christiana Mall 12

Christiana Mall, Newark; www.cinemark .com

Date opened: Nov. 20

Advanced technology: Cinemark XD: Extreme Digital Cinema, 4K digital projection, RealD 3D capability

Biggest screen: Wall-to-wall, ceiling-to-floor

Concessions: Self-serve concessions with popcorn, Coke products, candy.

Special events: The theater opens Nov. 20, in time for opening weekend of "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1." For the opening, the theater is hosting the first two "Hunger Games" leading to the latest. "The Hunger Games" starts at 2:30 p.m., "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" at 5:15 p.m. and the latest, "Mockingjay," at 8 p.m. Tickets are on sale at www.cinemark.com.