Movie Theater Has Blockbuster Grand Reopening Ceremony

Over 150 invited guests gathered for the Grand Reopening ceremony of the Regency Agoura Stadium 8 Cinemas, formerly the Regency Agoura Hills, on Thursday evening. The Cinco de Mayo-themed event was underscored by the sound of Latin music performed by the Inca Kings.

Following a ribbon-cutting ceremony, presided over by Regency Theatre chain owner Lyndon Golin, Mayor Harry Schwarz and property owner Steve Needleman, guests were treated to a taco bar meal, courtesy of King Taco

Golin said in his dedication speech that it was important to enhance the movie going experience in our area. “We acquired this theater two-and-half years ago with the goal of delivering an extraordinary entertainment experience. I really want this theater to be a community destination,” said Golin.

Schwarz thanked Golin and his company for investing in the community, for their involvement in hosting local events, and for being partners with our city.

Over the past five months, the theater has undergone a complete remodeling while remaining open by refurbishing the theaters one at a time. “It was a bit challenging, but we were able to do the re-build while remaining open and not disturbing the movie-goers,” said Regency CFO Monica Golin.

The state-of-the art cinemas now boast stadium seating with plenty of legroom and leather high-backed rocking chairs, Dolby digital 3-D, THX sound. One theater has 32 D-Box motion seats.

D-Box motion is considered the next dimension of the cinematic experience, said Golin. The seats rock, vibrate, and go up and down in sync with the action of the movie.

Demonstrations of the D-Box experience were given to the guests while they viewed scenes from Polar Express, Fast Five, and Terminator Salvation. Each seat comes with a button to set the intensity of the experience at high, medium, or low and may even be turned off if the experience proves to be too much. Movies must come from the studio with D-Box capacity. Fast Five is currently available in D-Box.

Future movies showing in D-Box are Pirates of the Caribbean and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. The D-Box experience can be purchased for an additional $8 fee.

Guests walked through the refurbished lobby while champagne, wine, and beer were served by the wait staff of Rick’s Café, the chain’s full service restaurant inside their San Juan Capistrano theatre. Popcorn, hot dogs, soda, and bottled water were also offered to the guests.

After the reception the guests were invited to stay for a pre-release screening of the romantic comedy Something Borrowed starring Ginnifer Goodwin, John Krasinsky, Kate Hudson, and Colin Egglesfield.

 “I loved that movie, it was so cute. And this theatre is just fantastic. The lobby is beautiful and the seats are so comfortable. I’m definitely looking forward to coming to this theatre again,”  said Yael Levy-Arad of Calabasas.

“What we are really in the business of is providing memories,” said Golin. “Everyone loves watching movies and we want people to not only have fond memories of the movies, but of where they experienced them. That’s the real reason we’re here.”

As part of the celebration, the theater will be offering free popcorn plus dollar drinks and hot dogs to patrons through Sunday.