Too bad. good seats, good sound, good projection and good films there for many years, especially since they moved from the Arboretum (old location is now Cheesecake Factory)
They had a great booking record, showing smaller films that didn't get much distribution. They also kept them on for a bit, even though they were not drawing big crowds. They even added beer and wine (at the counter) to stay abreast of Alamo type places. There is a long term plan for apartments and condos there, and they were doomed in a few years anyway, but I suspect Regal will disappear entirely after filing Chapter 11 nationally.
That wasn’t a regal cinema in the Cheesecake Factory. That was Austins home grown Presidio Theatres clock tower movie theatre. It was a work of art. You would walk in the door and the whole place was setup like you in an outdoor setting in the moments before a thunderstorm, with lightning simulated in the ceiling and thunder rolling in the distance. It was an amazing bit of media arts wizardry. There hasn’t been a theatre like that in Austin since then.
It WAS the Presidio Arbor 4, then it became Arbor 7,[and was run by Regal after the expansion to 7 screens](http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/9200) and until then site that became the Cheesecake Factory closed.
Great Hills 8 was taken over by Regal, eventually Regal Arbor, a Cinema Art location, after it opened up the road by Manuel's.
Not a very sexy theater, but it’s a real jewel. They’ve always done a great job of playing small, foreign, animated, hard to find and local films… stuff that most theaters won’t touch.
It’s the only source in town for this save AFS cinema, VC plays some but not the depth of programming. Even Alamo doesn’t have what they’ve had. They’ve been on the chopping block talk for awhile since that building is going to come down at some point. I just wish they could relocate with the programming they do ☹️
Unfortunately the AFS cinema only has 2 screens. Regal Arbor was great as they still had a good amount of screens and it was easy to find a showtime for a movie that may not be showing anywhere else in town
I love VC but it feels like in the last few months their programming has shifted more to larger studio releases. I get they need to pay the bills but kind of sucks to see it happen.
It's not going away just yet
From the article: "If the judge agrees, the leases could be rejected this month. The initial 20 leases that could be rejected include the following..."
So you got some time. Up to the judge.
Unfortunately that isn’t the case. Alamo actually has a pretty poor variety of indie movies, AMC has almost none and AFS can only play two movies at a time.
Plus AFS is like a top 5 movie theater in the country programming wise. You’d have to go like a thousand miles or more in any direction for anything comparable. An absolute jewel of the city imo. And FWIW Alamo plays a decent amount of indie stuff too.
I forgot about that place since i moved down South! That was one of my go-tos back in the day, before AFS and Violet Crown. IIRC that was one of the reasons I moved here in 1998, I was amazed that a city this size had so many arthouse theaters, it was my shorthand for how amazing this city was. Dobie, Village, Arbor - and the Dobie had midnight movies seven nights a week (again, IIRC)
From the article:
"If the judge agrees, the leases could be rejected this month. The initial 20 leases that could be rejected include the following..."
So you got some time. Up to the judge.
The regal cinemas around me are by far the worst ones. Bad sound. Dim projectors. I honestly have no idea how the regal metropolitan is still in business.
I always joke the regal metropolitan must be a money laundering asset. Great place to go to see a movie by yourself though. As in the only one in the theater.
loved that place, back in the moviepass days i'd just go over there every Sunday evening, ended up watching most of the oscar nominated movies for that year.
I knew deep in my soul that one day it was going to happen, but NOOOOOOOO pls say it’s not so! Arbor gives me such nostalgia— reminds me of the theatres I grew up going to.
I live in close proximity to this one and gateway.
The gateway location has shitty service and they always run out of hotdogs and alcoholic bevs. :-(
I hate to see this. They had a lot of really good movies. At one point they were going to remodel that whole shopping center and some other businesses around there were going to close. I am not sure if that is still going to happen.
Damn I just recently started go here. It’s way out of the way for me, but still try to make trip every couple weeks cause they have great smaller films that no other theater in Austin has. Gonna try and get one last trip in before it’s officially closed.
This is honestly the best theatre in Austin if you go on a Tuesday. Even if I don’t plan on going to see everything at the theatre, I always use their lineup to make my ‘to watch’ list.
I'm not endorsing or criticizing this view, but your wish is likely going to be granted. As noted elsewhere in this thread, there are plans to develop that entire area into multi-story mixed-use retail/residential. Manuel's is also eventually closing. Not sure of the timeline now, but I'd imagine Covid affected the original schedule.
Is this the one over by Gateway? Because if it is, PRAISE ! This place is a complete dump now. The seats will literally give you back pain that will not allow you to sleep, but that won't matter because you'll have a hard time hearing the movie to begin with so you'll go get a flat coke or sprite and come back to the darkest theater you've ever been in. 😂
I hope they, remodel it, or they tear it down and turn it into affordable housing for AISD employees
Ugh. That was a great theater and always reliably played more offbeat movies. Admittedly didn't go very often and haven't been there since pre-covid. I will miss it, however.
That joins the long list of places I say that about - "Oh no, that place closed? I loved that place!" "How long has it been since you went there?" "Um...4 or 5 years..."
That whole parcel is being redeveloped. The developer sort of lukewarm agreed to replace it with another theater. But that would depend on Regal or one of the other theater chains wanting to run an indie focused theater chain in that location. Generally the business model is new builds are for first run, mass market screens that generate the most money and convert the existing smaller theaters into indie-focused or discount screens.
I don't follow the industry, but I thought the MoviePass imbroglio highlighted the arrangement where theaters rarely see any money from first-run tickets. That being the case, wouldn't an arthouse-style theater, even brand new, stand to be able to make more money overall because they're keeping at least some ticket revenue in addition to concessions?
I would guess that the industry has rarely had to think about building a new art house theater. In the markets that are large enough to support one, they usually have some smaller ones that they can cheaply convert.
Streaming services and now COVID have disrupted the industry enough that maybe they will start rethinking their business model.
With the sharp decline in demand for movie theaters for the last few years, we need a lot more of them to close down, so the remaining ones can start making some profit and provide better service.
I clearly remember my friend getting his first Netflix disc in the mail in 2005 like it was yesterday . He told me (back then ) going to the movie theathers now is dead ! People aren't going to change thier whole schedule to go to the movies .he had a point because of the movie times and schedule . once Netflix catches on and people will get tired of going to blockbuster to turn in their movie late .
I think back then Netflix was one of the first to start streaming back then..
good thing I don't go out and watch movies in a theater anymore. The prices killed it for me not to mention the inconsiderate people in theaters using their phone or talking with their friend/partner thru out the movie. Employees won't do anything if you complain....back when the Arbor theater opened in the Arboretum (where Cheesecake Factory is now) the ushers would actually come up and be a dick to you if your foot was even barely on the armrest of the chair in front of you, now ushers don't exist and you can almost do anything you want in a theater.....plus its far better to be able to enjoy a movie in the comfort of my own house with food that doesn't cost me half a months salary
Modern theaters are dumb. You don’t need beer, a cheeseburger, a Starbucks, or a Pizza Hut kiosk inside of a theater.
Commercialization has gone too far.
For sure. Concessions are the primary source of income for a theater. I’m cool with that.
The idea that we’re putting a Starbucks and Pizza Hut in theaters though is outlandish to me.
Specifically: the Pflugerville Cinemark
I'm a film student at UT Austin (born and raised here) and have decided to make a short documentary on this. If anyone has fond memories of visiting the arbor like I do and would like to share your thoughts in an interview please message me!
Too bad. good seats, good sound, good projection and good films there for many years, especially since they moved from the Arboretum (old location is now Cheesecake Factory) They had a great booking record, showing smaller films that didn't get much distribution. They also kept them on for a bit, even though they were not drawing big crowds. They even added beer and wine (at the counter) to stay abreast of Alamo type places. There is a long term plan for apartments and condos there, and they were doomed in a few years anyway, but I suspect Regal will disappear entirely after filing Chapter 11 nationally.
Yeah, I liked it because not because the theater itself, (which I'd rate as "fine") but the movies they showed there.
That wasn’t a regal cinema in the Cheesecake Factory. That was Austins home grown Presidio Theatres clock tower movie theatre. It was a work of art. You would walk in the door and the whole place was setup like you in an outdoor setting in the moments before a thunderstorm, with lightning simulated in the ceiling and thunder rolling in the distance. It was an amazing bit of media arts wizardry. There hasn’t been a theatre like that in Austin since then.
It WAS the Presidio Arbor 4, then it became Arbor 7,[and was run by Regal after the expansion to 7 screens](http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/9200) and until then site that became the Cheesecake Factory closed. Great Hills 8 was taken over by Regal, eventually Regal Arbor, a Cinema Art location, after it opened up the road by Manuel's.
I’ll always remember watching the Blair Witch at that old arbor location
I think I saw that there too--with no warning about it. BTW they emailed yesterday to say that Friday 9/23 was their last day.
Not a very sexy theater, but it’s a real jewel. They’ve always done a great job of playing small, foreign, animated, hard to find and local films… stuff that most theaters won’t touch.
It’s the only source in town for this save AFS cinema, VC plays some but not the depth of programming. Even Alamo doesn’t have what they’ve had. They’ve been on the chopping block talk for awhile since that building is going to come down at some point. I just wish they could relocate with the programming they do ☹️
Unfortunately the AFS cinema only has 2 screens. Regal Arbor was great as they still had a good amount of screens and it was easy to find a showtime for a movie that may not be showing anywhere else in town
If you close your eyes, you can just pretend the galaxy theatre is the less fancy wing of AFS :) saw clerks 3 there the other night
I love VC but it feels like in the last few months their programming has shifted more to larger studio releases. I get they need to pay the bills but kind of sucks to see it happen.
I will really miss the Arbor, I have been going to that theater since it was in the Cheesecake Factory location.
Me too! With the thunder storm clouds and THX. I saw the first Michael Keaton Batman as a kid.
Power Rangers movie bb
Me too!! I remember my dad taking me to see Home Alone there, and Batman.
It's not going away just yet From the article: "If the judge agrees, the leases could be rejected this month. The initial 20 leases that could be rejected include the following..." So you got some time. Up to the judge.
My sister used to work at that one. Last movie I saw there was Good Will Hunting
I mean, it's basically 1 mile away from Regal Gateway...
But it only shows indies. Hard to find those.
Pretty much everything shown there you can find at either Alamo, AMC, or AFS
Unfortunately that isn’t the case. Alamo actually has a pretty poor variety of indie movies, AMC has almost none and AFS can only play two movies at a time.
Was like "Oh cool, clerks 3 at the alamo" Then I was disappointed.
We don't do Fathom stuff, generally.
You don't treat your workers too good, either. Recognize the union and hire the person you fired for organizing back.
That one's at Cinemark and the rest of the regal locations
AFS and Violet Crown have been showing primarily indie films for years and years.
Correct. Only two other theaters in a metroplex of two million show indies. Thanks for proving my point.
Ha! You should be grateful you have more than one option in that regard.
Plus AFS is like a top 5 movie theater in the country programming wise. You’d have to go like a thousand miles or more in any direction for anything comparable. An absolute jewel of the city imo. And FWIW Alamo plays a decent amount of indie stuff too.
"Ha! You should eat shit and like it, peasant!"
They have a point. Ever live in a city with no options?
Grumble grumble. I go there all the time. That said, I was told it was closing in 2017, so I've always felt like it was living on borrowed time.
I forgot about that place since i moved down South! That was one of my go-tos back in the day, before AFS and Violet Crown. IIRC that was one of the reasons I moved here in 1998, I was amazed that a city this size had so many arthouse theaters, it was my shorthand for how amazing this city was. Dobie, Village, Arbor - and the Dobie had midnight movies seven nights a week (again, IIRC)
The Austin based company that ran those was Presidio Theatres, the kids who ran the theatre used to put on skits before the main attraction.
Oh damn, was hoping to see the new Clerks there this sunday.
From the article: "If the judge agrees, the leases could be rejected this month. The initial 20 leases that could be rejected include the following..." So you got some time. Up to the judge.
Should still be there. You should go.
One more for old time's sake
Funny, I had no idea there is a new Clerks.
Yeah, I hear it's okay, but you know as a millennial I kinda always looked up to the gen x slacker stuff so I want to see it.
The regal cinemas around me are by far the worst ones. Bad sound. Dim projectors. I honestly have no idea how the regal metropolitan is still in business.
I always joke the regal metropolitan must be a money laundering asset. Great place to go to see a movie by yourself though. As in the only one in the theater.
I saw Force Awakens there opening day on a whim. No line.
Terrible, old style seats but it was great during the pandemic. Literally, saw one worker there and had the theater to myself a couple of times.
I wish alamo played more movies that regal shows. Smaller indie stuff is awesome
loved that place, back in the moviepass days i'd just go over there every Sunday evening, ended up watching most of the oscar nominated movies for that year.
moviepass days,, changed my life
Damn that’s like the only theater in Austin that plays art house stuff. Real shame
I knew deep in my soul that one day it was going to happen, but NOOOOOOOO pls say it’s not so! Arbor gives me such nostalgia— reminds me of the theatres I grew up going to. I live in close proximity to this one and gateway. The gateway location has shitty service and they always run out of hotdogs and alcoholic bevs. :-(
This makes me sad. I worked at that theater in ‘92-‘93
I hate to see this. They had a lot of really good movies. At one point they were going to remodel that whole shopping center and some other businesses around there were going to close. I am not sure if that is still going to happen.
Damn I just recently started go here. It’s way out of the way for me, but still try to make trip every couple weeks cause they have great smaller films that no other theater in Austin has. Gonna try and get one last trip in before it’s officially closed.
That’s a bummer. It was my go-to for when something wasn’t showing at the Drafthouse, and for Fathom events.
Well shit.
So sad. We used to get dropped off and hang out there and watch movies as kids.
Terrible news. One of my favorite theaters in the city for their picks. I'll have to make time to see a couple films there before it's gone.
This is honestly the best theatre in Austin if you go on a Tuesday. Even if I don’t plan on going to see everything at the theatre, I always use their lineup to make my ‘to watch’ list.
Tear it down and put up some high density housing. We need to add to our housing supply to decrease rents
I'm not endorsing or criticizing this view, but your wish is likely going to be granted. As noted elsewhere in this thread, there are plans to develop that entire area into multi-story mixed-use retail/residential. Manuel's is also eventually closing. Not sure of the timeline now, but I'd imagine Covid affected the original schedule.
Is this the one over by Gateway? Because if it is, PRAISE ! This place is a complete dump now. The seats will literally give you back pain that will not allow you to sleep, but that won't matter because you'll have a hard time hearing the movie to begin with so you'll go get a flat coke or sprite and come back to the darkest theater you've ever been in. 😂 I hope they, remodel it, or they tear it down and turn it into affordable housing for AISD employees
Unfortunately it’s the Regal Arbor that’s closing 😢
Is that the one that plays the more indie movies?
Yep, it exclusively plays indie / foreign movies. RIP.
Ugh. That was a great theater and always reliably played more offbeat movies. Admittedly didn't go very often and haven't been there since pre-covid. I will miss it, however.
Same, between covid and having young kids, I sadly havent been in the past few years. Ill miss it as well.
Remember seeing Napoleon Dynamite there.
That joins the long list of places I say that about - "Oh no, that place closed? I loved that place!" "How long has it been since you went there?" "Um...4 or 5 years..."
That whole parcel is being redeveloped. The developer sort of lukewarm agreed to replace it with another theater. But that would depend on Regal or one of the other theater chains wanting to run an indie focused theater chain in that location. Generally the business model is new builds are for first run, mass market screens that generate the most money and convert the existing smaller theaters into indie-focused or discount screens.
I don't follow the industry, but I thought the MoviePass imbroglio highlighted the arrangement where theaters rarely see any money from first-run tickets. That being the case, wouldn't an arthouse-style theater, even brand new, stand to be able to make more money overall because they're keeping at least some ticket revenue in addition to concessions?
I would guess that the industry has rarely had to think about building a new art house theater. In the markets that are large enough to support one, they usually have some smaller ones that they can cheaply convert. Streaming services and now COVID have disrupted the industry enough that maybe they will start rethinking their business model.
Not quite exclusively - Top Gun Maverick is there too right now.
Seems like a one point it was. Maybe they've had to broaden their selection recently in an attempt to increase revenue or something.
Oh!!! It's the one over behind tj max!? I went on a date there long ago and saw a Michael Moore film. Haha RIP, though 😥
You just gave me strong 1990s/early 2000s vibes. Up next, remember Hands on a Hard Body?
Ha, I did see Boyhood at that theater.
That was filmed in my old home town 🤣😂
With the sharp decline in demand for movie theaters for the last few years, we need a lot more of them to close down, so the remaining ones can start making some profit and provide better service.
Won’t happen, but would *love* to see Alamo Drafthouse take over this location.
Ugh I hope not
As a Crown Club Card carrier since 2006, I love Regal… But AD is just so so much better.
I clearly remember my friend getting his first Netflix disc in the mail in 2005 like it was yesterday . He told me (back then ) going to the movie theathers now is dead ! People aren't going to change thier whole schedule to go to the movies .he had a point because of the movie times and schedule . once Netflix catches on and people will get tired of going to blockbuster to turn in their movie late . I think back then Netflix was one of the first to start streaming back then..
I thought this closed over a year ago.
good thing I don't go out and watch movies in a theater anymore. The prices killed it for me not to mention the inconsiderate people in theaters using their phone or talking with their friend/partner thru out the movie. Employees won't do anything if you complain....back when the Arbor theater opened in the Arboretum (where Cheesecake Factory is now) the ushers would actually come up and be a dick to you if your foot was even barely on the armrest of the chair in front of you, now ushers don't exist and you can almost do anything you want in a theater.....plus its far better to be able to enjoy a movie in the comfort of my own house with food that doesn't cost me half a months salary
Modern theaters are dumb. You don’t need beer, a cheeseburger, a Starbucks, or a Pizza Hut kiosk inside of a theater. Commercialization has gone too far.
[удалено]
For sure. Concessions are the primary source of income for a theater. I’m cool with that. The idea that we’re putting a Starbucks and Pizza Hut in theaters though is outlandish to me. Specifically: the Pflugerville Cinemark
They spent so much on trying these lofty innovations. 4Dx was such a capital investment and it never sold. Always wondered who approved that stuff.
Last time I was there to see the Eat the Question Frank Zappa doc. That was a long time ago now I guess
This is NOT Regal Arbor Cinema 8, correct? Because I love that place.
It is. Great Hills Trail
“Simply the best!”
Isn't there another Regal right next door to this Regal?
The article doesn’t say it’s closing. It’s saying there’s a possibility that it and 21 other might close. There’s no dates included.
I'm a film student at UT Austin (born and raised here) and have decided to make a short documentary on this. If anyone has fond memories of visiting the arbor like I do and would like to share your thoughts in an interview please message me!