Megaplexes Doom Older Suburban Movie Theaters

Essentially, the company had decided that many of its older buildings aren'tcompetitive with the megaplex theaters of today, said Jennifer Hansen,director of communications for the company.

The company is a subsidiary of National Amusements, which is based inDedham, MA, and has 1,354 indoor screens in the United States, UnitedKingdom and Latin America. There are nine Showcase theaters left inMichigan, mostly in urban areas in the Metropolitan Detroit area.

Hansen told GlobeSt.com that the Bloomfield Township theaters were closeddue to a "lack of profitability.""Anything that was closed falls into the category of an older theater," shesaid. "With new theaters upsizing now, patrons are now accustomed tostadium seating, wall-to-wall screens and digital. We're building thosetheaters that are offering those amenities."

However, there won't be any new Showcase buildings in the Detroit area inthe near future, Hansen said."We'll keep our eyes open for options," Hansen said. "We have to put ourresources into installing new amenities in our planned theaters."

She said the company has had to compete locally with Star Theaters, a firmwith large multiscreen complexes in the Detroit area. Star was bought lastyear by Loews Theaters."We've got a great summer movie season coming up, we're looking forward toit," Hansen noted. She said the Telegraph buildings and land would be sold for non-theater use.

National Amusements started out as a chain of local drive-in movie theatersin 1938. It also runs the Multiplex Cinema brands, and owns CBS, MTV,Paramount Pictures, Blockbuster and other entertainment companies.