Boxoffice-August.1989

COVER STORY
Famous Players' Victoria Terrace
The quiet giant of the North launches its expansion
program with a boldly distinctive six-plex.
By Shlomo Sc;hwartzberg
FAMOUS
PL/\yers is on the move.
The highest grossing theatre circuit
in Canada is expanding, planning
to increase its numlDer of screens
by approximately 30 percent—to more
than 600 from a current 452— by 1991.
And the jewel in the crown is the Victoria
Terrace six-plex which opened in
May 1989 in the Toronto suburb of
North York.
Fittingly, this spectacular theatre
opened with a spectacular movie— the
Canadian premiere of "Indiana Jones
and The Last Crusade." And like the
Spielberg movie, the Victoria Terrace
dazzled and thrilled the opening night
throng who were invited to munch on
hors d'oeuvres and sip champagne before
the screening.
From the outset, the Victoria Terrace
impresses. The entrance is via a long
hallway that allows inside line-ups. Two
video monitors show coming attraction
trailers (there are another two upstairs
in the spacious lobby) and the two boxoffices
are designed for quick ticket purchases—same
day in advance of the
show, if desired. Once the purchase is
made, an escalator whisks the expectant
filmgoer upstairs where the full
impact of the gigantic lobby is evident.
The lobby area— 12,500 square feetis
lined with floor-to-ceiling windows.
There are two six-station concession
bars and cafe terrace seating that allows
patrons to sit and relax before the movie
begins.
A Famous Movie Shop commands a
central position in the lobby, at the top
of the escalators. The Victoria Terrace
opened with Canada's fourteenth Movie
Shop: free-standing kiosks at which patrons
can purchase movie-related merchandise
that range from T-shirts to
soundtrack cassettes to coffee mugs.
The lobby decor is in muted colors
which makes for a relaxing atmosphere
and also serves to highlight the striking
theatre entrances. Each of the six
houses in the complex is named to
evoke movie palaces of the past, a stylistic
statement in opposition to the impersonal
numbering of most other multiplex
theatres. That statement also extends
to other details of each theatre
from the smallest (the 216-seat Olympia)
to the largest (the 472-seat Paradise).
Primary colors dominate the eyecatching
theatre entranceways and the
custom-designed carpets, curtain and
seating fabric. Distinctive proscenium
arches surround each screen and echo
the entrance marquees, helping to mark
each theatre as special and original.
All six theatres are equipped with
Dolby Spectral Recording sound, which
will be the standard equipment in all
new, renovated and upgraded Famous
Players theatres. The Paradise has 70
mm capability, while the other five
houses are equipped to, if necessary,
play 35 mm prints simultaneously. The
theatres are completely wheelchair accessible
and parking, both undergroimd
and on grade, is plentiful and free. In
other words, the Victoria Terrace is
state-of-the-art in both design and technology.
With the Victoria Tertace, and the
other recently . opened theatres in
Brampton, Halifax, Ottawa, Windsor,
Vancouver, Oakville and Hamilton, Famous
Players is hoping to steal some of
the thunder from Cineplex Odeon, Canada's
other major theatre chain.
"We haven't had a public profile,"
cidmits Gillian Howard, director of public
relations for Famous Players. As a
private company, owned by Paramount
Communications Inc. (Cineplex Odeon
IS publicly owned), Famous Players has
stayed out of the headlines while reaping
the benefits of showcasing most of
the hit movies of the past few years.
(Famous Players has screened eight of
the top 10 grossing movies each year
trom 1986 through 1988.)
Under the guidance of Chairman and
CEO Walter Senior and what Howard
refers to as "a team of strong people in