Movie-goers Have Something to Rave About
By Jason Harris
A big change has come to the movie-going scene in Connecticut. National Amusements Incorporated, perhaps better known as Showcase Cinemas, has sold most of its theaters in Connecticut to Rave Motion Pictures of Dallas. Rave purchased theaters in Manchester, Milford, North Haven, Southington and Berlin.
The purchase of these Connecticut theaters, plus other National Amusement theaters in other states, doubled the number of Rave theaters in the United States. According to the Rave website (http://www.ravemotionpictures.com/), the company purchased 35 theaters from National Amusements in December 2009.
Jeremy Devine, Vice-President of Marketing at Rave, said they purchased the theaters because they were "very attractive assets that National Amusements was interested in selling."
Rave was founded in 1999 in Dallas by Thomas W. Stevenson, Jr., former CEO of Hollywood Pictures, owned by the Walt Disney Company from June 1995 to May 1999.
Rave isn't planning on any renovations for its newly acquired cinemas except for the concession areas. "The theaters are in good shape except for signage," Devine said.
The changes from National Amusements to Rave will start internally in April, Devine said. Customers will start seeing the new signage outside the theaters in May or June.
Right now, the websites for National Amusements and Rave theaters are listing the sold theaters on each others' sites. This may end in June or earlier, Devine said.
Rave theaters stand out because it was the first theater chain to go 100 percent digital, Devine said. "It's a big deal." Digital allows Rave to show 3D and alternative content like sporting events, live concerts and theater presentations. Rave theaters are showing NCAA basketball games live in 3D, but not in any Connecticut location because the equipment isn't in place yet. This is content they would like to expand, he admitted. Rave has been "a pioneer in 3D since Chicken Little." Devine said, "It was a good gamble that paid off."
Programs like the Silver Screen Classics are one of about a dozen programs that are under review, Devine said. Since December, the Silver Screen Classics program has continued to run in the transition period.
AAA is still selling discount tickets to National Amusement theaters, according to Jacklyn Ghergurovich, Public Affairs Coordinator. AAA sells discount tickets to a number of theater chains like National Amusements and Bow Tie Cinemas. It doesn't sell any discount tickets to Rave theaters. Ghergurovich doesn't know if they will be selling discount tickets to Rave in the future.
Rave does have a program called Director's Club tickets which are discounted tickets, Devine said. Information about this program can be found on its website.
Along with finding a theater on the website, a person can also sign up for a weekly newsletter which contains information about what movies are showing and at what time to a subscribers email.
All the purchased Showcase Cinemas will honor prestige passes from AAA and gift cards through December 17, 2010, National Amusements spokeswoman Tracy King wrote in an email.
Rave is also interested in purchasing the Enfield Showcase. Devine believes the company will acquire the cinema. He couldn't confirm if it had been bought yet, but he did say the process had been delayed. "When you have 30 theaters then take over 30 plus theaters there can be any number of reasons for delays," he said. "I'm confident that the Enfield theater will be a Rave theater."
Not including the Enfield Showcase, Devine said that Rave isn't considering purchasing or building any more theaters in Connecticut. "There are no plans at this time," Devine said. But, he added, "never say never."
