The company was founded in 1920 by the Dubinsky Brothers (Maurice, Edward and Barney) who had been traveling the Midwest performing melodramas and tent shows with actress Jeanne Eagels. They purchased the
Regent Theatre on 12th Street between Walnut and Grand in downtown Kansas City, Missouri
The Dubinskys eventually changed their name to Durwood and the company was called Durwood Theatres.
In 1961, Edward's son, Stanley, took control of Durwood Theatres when his father died. Stanley had attended Harvard University and served as a navigator in the U.S. Air Force during World War II.
He renamed Durwood Theatres to "American Multi-Cinema, Inc.", and began to apply military management and the insights of management science to revolutionize the movie theatre industry.[8] As he later explained to
Variety, "We needed to define what our company was doing in the (exhibition) business. My dad wasn't that organized."
It was founded on the belief that every "guest" (as AMC calls them) was to be treated first.
In 1963, AMC opened the two-screen Parkway Twin in a shopping center on Kansas City's Ward Parkway. Durwood later claimed that "in 1962 he was standing in the lobby of his 600-seat Roxy in Kansas City mulling over its
poor grosses when he realized he could double his box office by adding a second screen and still operate with the same size staff."This insight arises from the fact that the real-time labor demands of a movie theatre are not
constant. Rather, they come in bursts at the start and end of the movie. At the start, a large number of employees have to sell tickets, process tickets at an access point, sell food at the concession stand (a theatre's primary
profit center), make sure the theatre is not overcrowded, and run the film projector. While the movie plays, a small number of employees are needed for security and access control, while the others are relatively idle, allowing
them to restock concession items, clean restrooms, and clean the lobby. At the end of the movie, a number of employees are needed to clean the theatre for the next showing. When the start times for movie showings in several
physically connected auditoriums are staggered correctly, one team can continually keep all of them operational with minimal downtime. An additional advantage is that a different movie can be shown in each auditorium, which
increases the choices available at a theatre's box office at any given time, and minimizes the possibility that disappointed moviegoers will take their business to a different theatre altogether.
In retrospect, Durwood's idea seems simple, but it took a lot of trial and error to get the bugs out. For example, when the Parkway Twin opened, both screens were showing the same movie, The Great Escape.[12] Next,
Durwood followed up on the Parkway Twin with a four-screen theatre in 1966 and a six-screen theatre in 1969. In the 1960s, the company expanded nationwide. However, its coup de grace was the 1980s, when it began opening
larger theaters with stadium seating. It continued to evolve throughout the 1990s, replacing many of the 80's (and older) stores.
AMC pioneered the first North American megaplex when it opened the AMC Grand 24 in Dallas, Texas, in 1995, though the first megaplex in the world had been built by European chain Kinepolis in 1988. AMC has continued to
open megaplex theaters and now operates the busiest theater in the country at the AMC Empire 25 theater in New York City, New York, located near Times Square.
In 1997, AMC formed a joint partnership with Planet Hollywood to develop Planet Movies by AMC.
In the 1980s, AMC built and operated a number of multiplex ten-screen cinemas in the UK, including sites at locations such as Dudley and Tamworth. These were subsequently bought and taken over by UCI. In January 2002,
the 16-screen Great Northern was opened in Manchester, which was later supplemented by the opening of a 12-screen cinema on the Broadway Plaza site in Birmingham in October 2003. United Kingdom outlets serve a dual
function, they also cater to business conferences and companies can display spreadsheets and other things through a projector onto the cinema screen, this is in addition to the normal cinema functions.
AMC at Easton Town Center in Columbus, OhioAMC introduced stadium-style seating, in which the seats are placed on risers so that each person has an unobstructed view of the screen. Both of these features have become
standard for nearly all movie theaters built today by all major chains.
The early versions of stadium-style seating as built in 1995 had auditoriums configured with an entrance to a flat area right in front of the screen for wheelchair-bound guests. Able-bodied guests had to ascend up the stairs to sit
in the middle of the risers in order to have a comfortable line-of-sight with the screen. Since many wheelchair users also have limited neck range as a result of the injuries that put them in wheelchairs to begin with, this
Regent Theatre on 12th Street between Walnut and Grand in downtown Kansas City, Missouri
The Dubinskys eventually changed their name to Durwood and the company was called Durwood Theatres.
In 1961, Edward's son, Stanley, took control of Durwood Theatres when his father died. Stanley had attended Harvard University and served as a navigator in the U.S. Air Force during World War II.
He renamed Durwood Theatres to "American Multi-Cinema, Inc.", and began to apply military management and the insights of management science to revolutionize the movie theatre industry.[8] As he later explained to
Variety, "We needed to define what our company was doing in the (exhibition) business. My dad wasn't that organized."
It was founded on the belief that every "guest" (as AMC calls them) was to be treated first.
In 1963, AMC opened the two-screen Parkway Twin in a shopping center on Kansas City's Ward Parkway. Durwood later claimed that "in 1962 he was standing in the lobby of his 600-seat Roxy in Kansas City mulling over its
poor grosses when he realized he could double his box office by adding a second screen and still operate with the same size staff."This insight arises from the fact that the real-time labor demands of a movie theatre are not
constant. Rather, they come in bursts at the start and end of the movie. At the start, a large number of employees have to sell tickets, process tickets at an access point, sell food at the concession stand (a theatre's primary
profit center), make sure the theatre is not overcrowded, and run the film projector. While the movie plays, a small number of employees are needed for security and access control, while the others are relatively idle, allowing
them to restock concession items, clean restrooms, and clean the lobby. At the end of the movie, a number of employees are needed to clean the theatre for the next showing. When the start times for movie showings in several
physically connected auditoriums are staggered correctly, one team can continually keep all of them operational with minimal downtime. An additional advantage is that a different movie can be shown in each auditorium, which
increases the choices available at a theatre's box office at any given time, and minimizes the possibility that disappointed moviegoers will take their business to a different theatre altogether.
In retrospect, Durwood's idea seems simple, but it took a lot of trial and error to get the bugs out. For example, when the Parkway Twin opened, both screens were showing the same movie, The Great Escape.[12] Next,
Durwood followed up on the Parkway Twin with a four-screen theatre in 1966 and a six-screen theatre in 1969. In the 1960s, the company expanded nationwide. However, its coup de grace was the 1980s, when it began opening
larger theaters with stadium seating. It continued to evolve throughout the 1990s, replacing many of the 80's (and older) stores.
AMC pioneered the first North American megaplex when it opened the AMC Grand 24 in Dallas, Texas, in 1995, though the first megaplex in the world had been built by European chain Kinepolis in 1988. AMC has continued to
open megaplex theaters and now operates the busiest theater in the country at the AMC Empire 25 theater in New York City, New York, located near Times Square.
In 1997, AMC formed a joint partnership with Planet Hollywood to develop Planet Movies by AMC.
In the 1980s, AMC built and operated a number of multiplex ten-screen cinemas in the UK, including sites at locations such as Dudley and Tamworth. These were subsequently bought and taken over by UCI. In January 2002,
the 16-screen Great Northern was opened in Manchester, which was later supplemented by the opening of a 12-screen cinema on the Broadway Plaza site in Birmingham in October 2003. United Kingdom outlets serve a dual
function, they also cater to business conferences and companies can display spreadsheets and other things through a projector onto the cinema screen, this is in addition to the normal cinema functions.
AMC at Easton Town Center in Columbus, OhioAMC introduced stadium-style seating, in which the seats are placed on risers so that each person has an unobstructed view of the screen. Both of these features have become
standard for nearly all movie theaters built today by all major chains.
The early versions of stadium-style seating as built in 1995 had auditoriums configured with an entrance to a flat area right in front of the screen for wheelchair-bound guests. Able-bodied guests had to ascend up the stairs to sit
in the middle of the risers in order to have a comfortable line-of-sight with the screen. Since many wheelchair users also have limited neck range as a result of the injuries that put them in wheelchairs to begin with, this
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SOUTHCENTER MOVIES
| - AMC Southcenter 16 and the Westfield Southcenter Mall |
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AMC SOUTHCENTER 16 with IMAX
Westfield Southcenter Mall - 3rd Level (South Side of Mall) Tel: 206-652-2404
Amenities: All Digital Picture, Wall to Wall Screens, Digital Surround Sound, Stadium Seating,
Wheelchair Accessible, Listening Devices, Automated Ticketing Stations, Certified IMAX
Auditorium
Details: Southcenter's newest movie theater which offers all digital picture. The theater is located
on the 3rd level of the new section of Westfield Southcenter Mall. The new section of the mall
offers more restaurants and shopping. Easy access parking garages, shopping, and dining make
it very convenient.
Amenities: All Digital Picture, Wall to Wall Screens, Digital Surround Sound, Stadium Seating,
Wheelchair Accessible, Listening Devices, Automated Ticketing Stations, Certified IMAX
Auditorium
Details: Southcenter's newest movie theater which offers all digital picture. The theater is located
on the 3rd level of the new section of Westfield Southcenter Mall. The new section of the mall
offers more restaurants and shopping. Easy access parking garages, shopping, and dining make
it very convenient.
REGAL CINEMAS PARKWAY PLAZA STADIUM 12
5910 South 180th Street, Tukwila, WA 98188 Tel: 206-575-1313
Amenities: Digital Surround Sound, Stadium Seating, Wheelchair Accessible, Listening Devices
Details: Opened in 1999, Parkway Plaza Stadium 12 is a state of the art movie theater located on the south side of the
Parkway Supercenter. Many restaurants are only a few steps away which include Claim Jumper and Applebee's.
Amenities: Digital Surround Sound, Stadium Seating, Wheelchair Accessible, Listening Devices
Details: Opened in 1999, Parkway Plaza Stadium 12 is a state of the art movie theater located on the south side of the
Parkway Supercenter. Many restaurants are only a few steps away which include Claim Jumper and Applebee's.
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