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The Regal sign is not original to the building, but was added in 2006

Location
101 F Street
Corner of 1st Street and F, across from Seasons
Phone
Fandango Show Times (530)753-3945
Direct Theater Line (530) 753-3093
Website
Their website (browse there to find info you need)

The Regal Cinemas Davis Holiday 6 is a movie theater located downtown. Compared to the now closed other Regal theater that opened in 1999, it is older as it opened in 1989. The Holiday contains has six screens, and more "traditional" non-stadium seats. All auditoriums have had their 35mm projection systems replaced with digital (one of the platters is in the good hands of one of this theater's former long-time projectionists!) Five screens have proper full-width scope screens with side masking while one is top-down. Both Holiday and Stadium used to split what they showed. These two theaters both run a $6.50 Movie Tuesday, exclusive to members of the Regal Crown Club. There is also an educational discount (with a UC Davis student or staff ID card) at both theaters for those non-discount days (Sun - Thurs Only). You can also pay for your movie and popcorn with a credit card. They also give military discounts.

In place of the Free Family Film Festival in summer (2011) Stadium 5 and the Regal Natomas Marketplace 16 in Sacramento showed G and PG rated films at 10:00am on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for $1. The "Summer Movie Express" reruns movies have long since left the theater.

Regal on Facebook link

See Movie Theaters for other theaters in Davis and the surrounding area.

History

The building now known as the Hattie Weber Museum stood here from 1911 until it was relocated in 1988. It was the town's library until 1969, and after that, the city used it for a variety of purposes, including a brief stint as a teen center.

Construction on the Holiday Cinema, known as "The New Theater" for years before and afterwards, began in fall 1988 and opened for business on December 22, 1989 after a few delays- and even then, only four out of the six auditoriums were operational with the other two opening a few weeks later. The first movie to start on opening day was Blaze starring Paul Newman, along with The War of the Roses, Family Business, and She-Devil split with The Bear for matinees. All six were equipped with new JBL speakers driven by QSC amps from Dolby CP-55 processors, with film run on reconditioned Century projectors with new Christie platters. The projector heads for screens 3 and 4 were intially on loan, then replaced with the two from the twinned Varsity Theatre after that closed in September 1990.

The Holiday Cinema and Stadium 5 were both originally owned by bay area lawyer Phil Harris who named his company Holiday Cinema Enterprises and became Signature Theatres in the mid-1990s after acquiring a number of other theater properties. The Holiday Cinema was managed by theater expert Mike Curro from its opening in 1989 to August 1998. Under his leadership, the Holiday Cinema experienced enormous growth and financial success. In 1998 Julie Vogan took over, causing many long-time staff to leave and imposing low morale amongst those who remained. Michelle Lindstrom managed it from 2001 until April 2009. It was under her watch that Regal Entertainment Group bought the Holiday Cinema in 2004 along with nearly every theater Signature owned. The transition from Signature to Regal took a couple years and brought about many changes including significantly higher ticket prices, more pre-show advertising, higher concession prices, a new large sized drink - twice the size of the previous large, the replacement of milk duds with butterfingers, and the end of both the Retro Film Revival (2008) and the Free Family Film Festival (2006). The Holiday is now managed by Janet Smith.

Some Townies referred to this theater as the "old movie theater", and the Stadium 5 as the "new movie theater" up until it’s closure in May 2023. To those who've been in Davis even longer, this is still "the new theater" as it was known for the several years of planning prior to its being built.

The theatre building is well integrated with the parking structure that surrounds it because they were built together at the same time.

Comments:

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I've been to this theatre exactly three times, and I've been disappointed each time. Dirty prints, poor sound, weird curving screens, seats in the theatre that are useless for watching the movie. I guess they stay in business since they're the only game in town, but it's sad that we have to settle for this. —-mc

Screens 3 & 4 are generally considered to be worse since the door opens right into the lobby without a long hallway first, so every time someone has to go to the bathroom, the auditorium is flooded with light. Thanks to Regal, concessions are pricey, but it's someone's job to take away the cheap food you try to sneak in, so be discreet so that they can't see it. — AllisonEriksen

They are almost always hiring, but this is a pretty terrible place to work. Mostly corporate BS made it unbearable. Think twice about your other employment options first. - Anon.

I've been working at this theater for many years now and I don't find anything wrong with working here. I think it just depends how well you work with others, if you don't like working with other people then don't apply, but if you do then totally go for it. Also, our prints are no dirtier than any other theater's. The Retro Film Revival prints may be but that's because they're original prints. And with bringing in outside food, I don't remember a theater when I was growing up that let me bring in food, so I find it funny that so many people are surprised we don't allow it. We're not dumb, if you are going to bring it in don't put it in your purse right outside the door or hide a huge drink in your jacket pocket because those are easily noticeable. You'd be surprised how obvious people are. If you do manage to bring in outside food please throw it away after the movie is over because if we have to clean up a bunch of outside food in the auditoriums it just makes us become stricter when checking at the door. Why should we let you in with a big bag of food when you're just going to leave it for us to clean up? - Anon.

The problem is - where can you build a good new theatre in Davis? You can go to Woodland, but thats Woodland! - gautam

The good news is that I'm glad most people like what I'm doing with the Retro Film Revival and that I plan on continuing it for as long as people are interested. The really good news is that you don't have to come to my theatre to see these movies if you really hate it so very much. You now have the option of seeing some of the same retro films at the UA Arden Faire (though the series is called Flashback Features there).

I'm going to take a moment to address a few of the above user comments now.

MattCzarnowski mentions "Dirty prints, poor sound, weird curving screens, seats in the theatre that are useless for watching the movie". Wow, his experience must have really sucked and I'm sorry that I'm only learning about it now. I'm surprised about the presentation comments as that's something we generally get high marks for but I won't dispute that sometimes things go wrong: we're shipped a print in rough shape, we're training a new projectionist and a problem isn't caught before the film starts, etc. The curved screens thing is only really noticable when sitting in the seats against the walls close to the front of the auditorium so I can only guess that MattCzarnowski attended a sold out show or simply prefers those seats. If available, sit as centered in the auditorium as possible for best picture and sound balance.

The comments by AllisonEriksen are pretty much true in regards to auditoria 3 & 4 (she is a former employee of mine - we parted on good terms if I remember correctly, she just didn't enjoy her job, I guess). The hallways in those houses are regrettably short so light does reflect on the screen. I've requested inner doors but I think those are really high on anyone's repair list (especially when compared to the major repairs some theatres need)so we'll have to limp a long. In regards to Regal making the concession items "pricey" well, that's not exactly accurate. The industry as a whole has made the concession items expensive. It's okay to say that, it's not a secret. The reason for it, I'm told, is because about 85% or so of the money made from ticket sales goes back to the film distributor in rental fees so profit and operating costs have to be recuped somewhere.

I'm sorry that Anon didn't like working for me, but it's not a job for everyone. I hope they're happy somewhere else.

I'm happy to see that the second Anon posting presents a reasonable picture of the Holiday. My thanks to you.

gautam, I'm told that the State theatre in Woodland has a lot of charm, though I haven't had a chance to visit it myself. The theatre at the County Fair Mall wasn't so bad when I last visited it (in 1999).

All in all, thanks for the compliments and please-please-please don't let a bad experience at my theatre become worse by not saying something right away. Come talk to me (talk not yell) and I'll be glad to do what I can to fix things. If that isn't your cup of tea, then pick up a comment card in the lobby (on the wall on either side of the doors) and use any of the 3 different means of communicating listed there in — the easiest being this site. Despite what some of you may think, I'd rather you have the best moviegoing experience you've ever had every time you're here. On the other hand, if you have no complaints and you just want to stop by and say hey, I'd be glad to see you. Remember to check out the Retro Film Revival soon - this flight ends on 3/23. Or, wait a week and check out the next series. -Michelle Lindstrom, General Manager, Davis Holiday 6

2006-06-19 12:59:46   This was a great theater when it opened. Thank you Regal Cinemas for ruining it. —AlanSmithee

2006-07-20 10:29:12   was I the only one to notice that when the "retro" Varsity opened next door, Holiday suddenly got a nice shiny marquee out front too? That one made me giggle. —JulienBiewerElstob

2006-07-25 08:39:11   The employees I've seen have seemed to be especially "vibrant"; they seem to try hard to make the experience fun for all. The opposite of the "bored employee" one might expect. At least from this side (the outside), they're great. —SteveDavison

2006-07-31 14:51:46   I just wanted to add to my initial comments, since Michelle Lindstrom actually took the time to respond to mine. My last visit was for a late night "retro" film. This was before they discounted them to $5, so we paid full price for a filthy print that was missing 30 sec segments at multiple points. I felt that such a print was not worth full price, and tried to find a manager after the show, but I was told by a staffer that no manager was there that late. I then sent a letter about my experience, but received no reply. Also, I found the screen curvature distracting from the center-right seats, not just along the walls in the front. If anyone can give me reason to believe that things have changed, I'll try again. I'd love to see movies in town. —MattCzarnowski

2006-08-07 22:46:48   The retro films have always been $5. That's how they started about a year or so ago and have never changed price. If you, matt, had paid full price then it must have either been for a different series of films playing (about 2 or 3 years ago there were the "almost midnight movies" but that was when the theater was owned by Signature) or if it was more recent then you may have paid for the wrong movie and didn't look down at your ticket and realize it. Also every single night two managers are required to stay until every single patron is out of the building so there is no way when you got out of your movie that there were no managers on the premesis. Managers have to clean the projectors every night after each show ends, not floor staff workers. My guess is the floor staff person you talked to didn't realize that the managers were either in the office working on their nightly reports or upstairs cleaning projectors. —StargateFan

2006-10-09 19:54:56   For a fairly small college town like Davis, this theatre is pretty decent—especially since it's also an older theatre as well. I don't believe the building was originally designed to be a theatre, either, so that also very likely has a bit to do with any shortcomings it may have. —OnaWhim

2006-10-09 20:00:59   My scorn goes out to the enter key. Anyway, I'd also like to add in addition to SteveDavison's comment that the employees appear vibrant because they're generally not unsatisfied with their jobs and they do enjoy the other employees that they work with. Of course, it could also be said that those who do not enjoy their jobs at this theatre are also the ones who quit so quickly. However, I'd like to very much credit their displeasure of the job to what could likely be an innate laziness within them because it's pretty much one of the easiest jobs you can get without having a good bit of formal education and experience. If you can't handle movie theatre work, then, yeah, stay in school because that's truthfully how you can get an easier job than this. —OnaWhim

2006-10-25 22:17:11   I used to go to this theatre all the time when I was a kid. All the way through college in fact, at which point I moved away. But now I'm back and I've been attending the retro revival nights with my brothers. Let me just say that not only am I getting a total wave of nostalgia just visiting my old stomping ground, but getting to enjoy all these great films on the big screen where the belong...holy cow. It's just a fun experience all around! And yeah, the prints aren't always that great, but honestly, you're paying five bucks to see the film! The staff is always friendly, everyone seems to enjoy themselves, and there really is nothing better than watching a movie with a group of people who are there because they KNOW they like the movie already! There's this kind of camaraderie that happens and everyone jokes and laughs and cries together. To me it's five dollars very well spent. Kudos to Michelle and her staff! —TinyPants

2006-11-10 15:55:34   Thank you Regal for taking over the coolest theater in town. Today I went to see Borat with a few friends. They were already in the theater so I just went up to the counter and showed them my school ID. "Do you have your regular ID?" "Uh, no. I don't have my lisence yet." "Sorry, the management says you need proper photo ID." So I call my parents to sign my ticket. 10 mins later, "You need someone over 21 to accompany you." "But he's 17." "Sorry, the management..." I walked off. Great job, Regal. You just lost a customer. Moral of the story, always ask for the PG rated film and sneak in. —KevinRollins

2006-11-25 12:49:06   Or...you know...if you ARE 17 or older, you could—maybe, possibly—just go get an ID card. Let's pretend you can't drive. Let's pretend the DMV refuses to give you a liscence to drive. They also have these neat ID cards, which—as I understand it—can be acquired by pretty much anyone who's a California citizen. If you MUST see rated R movies, there are ways to do it. Also keep in mind that if that bastard sitting at the window refuses to give you a movie ticket, it's not because he hates you. It's because the theatre could get slapped with a big fine—meaning, we pay a lot of money and get yelled at—if we don't follow the rules that angry parents fought so hard to set in place some years back. If you want things to change, complain to the people who are even higher up than Regal about this stuff. Seriously, if you get into a rated R movie without a legitimate form of photo ID in pretty much any part of the country, it's because someone isn't doing their job. —OnaWhim

2007-01-19 01:01:42   I, for one, am happy that they'll play older movies. Maybe a lot of theaters do this, but I was thrilled to go see The Matrix tonight with 100+ other die hard fans. Not that I go to the movies often, but for being one of the few times I do, they made it an enjoyable experience. Not sure what their policy is about bringing your own food in, but I was able to sneak in a drink and snacks only semi-covertly without any problems. —AndrewLeonard

2007-01-29 01:07:24   what's the deal with screen2? its bottom is about 9 inches higher than the adjacent screen's, making the front row seats incredible neck strains, and the "sweet spot" of the theater pretty far back. —CraigBrozinsky

2007-03-10 01:18:14   To answer your question CraigBrozinsky, the screen in Auditorium 2 is the same height from the floor to the bottom of the screen as Auditoriums 3, 4, and 5 (actually, 5 is slightly different because the masking moves down instead of out when switching from flat to scope). Those 4 screens are all 72" off the floor. The reason that the screens in Auditorims 1 and 6 are slightly lower is that those are our big auditoriums and the screens are significantly larger than all the other ones. So the screens in those 2 are about 64" off the ground. Sorry if this caused a viewing problem for you, and I admit that those four smaller auditoriums may not have as great a viewing angle from the front because they generally don't have people in the front rows since they usually house less popular films or films that have been out for awhile. Hope this helps answer your question. —DavidPetrie

2007-03-10 02:10:31   The regals need to be hung for making us watch ACTUALL comercials before the movie. FFS bring back the slideshow. Only time you will catch me at a regal is on a Tues —StevenDaubert

2007-03-13 03:11:28   In regards to your complaint StevenDaubert, I just wanted to take a second to explain the advertising because a lot of people have grown to hate it (including many employees). http://investor.ncm.com/index.cfm should give you an idea of what an unstoppable juggernaut the advertising industry has become within the film exhibition industry. Along with Regal, the other two major American theatre chains (AMC and Cinemark) show the same National Cinemedia advertisements. Unfortunately, the money in this business is so lucrative theres not much we can do about it, so I hope you'll be able overcome your dislike of the commercials and enjoy your moviegoing experience (even if it's only on discount Tuesdays). —DavidPetrie

2007-04-29 11:48:06   Just another note to add on to my comrade Petrie's statement. The commercials bring in revenue for Regal, which in theory keeps them from raising prices even further. If you don't like the commercials, don't show up early. The Regal First Look isn't played in the middle of the previews. —William.Peacock

2007-05-06 20:51:39   Does anyone know if this theater or the other Regal uses artificial trans-fat containing popcorn topping or real butter? —Jedron

  • As a side comment, you should probably know that butter also contains transfats. I'm also not sure that the process that cows milk undergoes to become butter is particularly "natural" either. I prefer butter, and options are always good. —jw
  • I found out that Odells Pop N Top makes a real butter topping that is trans-fat free. I could see if Regal could try that. —Jedron

2007-05-09 19:19:39   Both Regal theatres use "Golden Delight Buttery Topping", made by Great Western Products Company, with the main ingredient being Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil. The popcorn is cooked in coconut oil and "Season It" popcorn salt. Sorry we don't have real butter, but if you'd like to request that Regal carry real butter (which would be totally awesome), please visit http://www.regmovies.com/corporate/comments.html and let corporate know how much you hate trans fats. Also, if you'd like to know more about what goes into the popcorn, please feel free to drop by the theatre and we'll be happy to show you. —DavidPetrie

  • Three year later update: As of Jan 1, 2010, California banned transfats in restaurants. I can't find if it applies to movie popcorn. -jw
    • The law does apply to movie theaters. There was a study done recently on popcorn from the 3 major movie theater chains(AMC, Regal, Cinemark) and none of the samples contained transfat in the popcorn or in the popcorn topping.

2007-07-12 09:23:30   I just saw Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix (great movie, by the way). I'm sorry, but I have to get this off my chest. I really really really do hate the commercials before the start of the movie—I own a TiVo so I can skip past them at home, and it annoys me that my wife and I paid close to $10 each to now have to sit and watch car commercials in full surround sound and a huge screen—can't escape them! Help! (Oh, and I can do without the anti-marijuana propaganda to boot).

And then, finally the movie starts, and guess what? Ten or so previews to have to watch! Arg! (a couple of the previews looked interesting, and correctly targeted toward the HP crowd, but most of them looked pretty inappropriate).

Not to knock the theater at all. It is one of the cleanest I've ever been in, the lines even for opening night were not that long, and the sound system I found very good. And it is fun to hear how people react to the movie you're all watching together. —DougBarbieri

And, only one person forgot to turn off her cell phone! :-)

Okay, I get that ticket prices would be even higher without the added revenue. As a business owner, I understand that you have to make the ends meet to try to have some profit at the end of the month. And I can imagine the cost of owning a retail store in Davis to be daunting. But bear in mind, this sort of thing makes someone like me think twice about going out to see a movie. Personally? I'd rather pay more for the ticket and have no commercials. My $.02, as I'm sure many students would disagree with me on that one. :-)

However, when I consider the cost, the annoying ads (the overpriced food doesn't bother me because I never want to eat at a movie theater), I think I may just wait for the release on DVD next time. :-) —DougBarbieri

2007-07-12 10:00:19   in reply to Doug's comments - I think these ads have come in recently (in the last 6-10 years). Before that it was either ads for local businesses and music, or a blank screen. So your $10 don't really go into effect until the actual previews start. You just get to be annoyed by car commercials since you got there early:) —RohiniJasavala

2007-07-12 14:29:12   I think the blame should be put on the advertisers and the awful commercials that they make. If they would make commercials that aren't obnoxiously loud and annoying, people might actually like their products more. I think an obnoxious car commercial would make you avoid that car company. I think Tivo does spoil people these days. Remember when you couldn't fast forward through commercials? Gasp.

The former company, Signature Theatres, that used to run the theater a few years ago never played commercials. There are independent locally owned movie theaters that don't play commercials. In LA, there is a movie theater called the Arclight where they don't play commercials, have only a few previews, have ushers that show you to your seats, and kick out unruly patrons. However, they charge $14 a ticket, but the experience is guaranteed luxury. —Jedron

2007-11-14 12:21:04   Just wanted to let everyone know that the Retro Film Revival will be returning in January as Retro Film Revival presents...8 Films with Tongue in Cheek. Same format as before: Thursday nights at 10pm, tickets only $5. And as always, if there are any local businesses that would be interested in partnering with us on the RFR, please drop by the theatre. —DavidPetrie

2007-12-16 14:25:57   does anyone know if/when Juno is coming to Davis? —ElleWeber

2007-12-16 16:16:04   It had a limited release starting Dec. 5. Juno will be expanding to theaters nationwide over the next three weeks. —Jedron

2007-12-30 21:15:32   I don't expect much from our local movie theaters - just a place to watch a movie in reasonable comfort. Every time I go the price seems to be a $1 higher, so now I only go if it is something I really want to see and I believe that seeing it on a big screen will be worthwhile. However, the actions of the ticket taker the last time I went really ticked me off. The guy taking tickets at the door demanded to search my purse!...something about checking for a video camera. The resulting very unpleasant conversation ruined the whole movie experience for me. He didn't succeed in searching my purse and I was upset for much of the movie. What gives!? —SharlaDaly

2007-12-30 21:40:16   Don't feel bad. That sort of thing is happening at movie theaters all over the country. It's some sort of corporate policy where they force employees to search for cameras to prevent piracy. It is sort of militaristic, but it's the evil Movie Studios that are threatening theater companies with lawsuits. Movie studios are not making as much money as they hope, so they are blaming piracy for their lack of profit. Movie studios are blaming "pirates" for their problems, when in fact it is due to their own crappy movies that they churn out. —Jedron

2008-04-20 12:06:08   this theater is horrible! I too was subjected to having to get my purse checked. Total shocker that really pissed me off. First of all there is no clearly visible sign (that i could see at least) that states purses will be checked and even further they do not state cameras can not be let in the theater. I think its utterly ridiculous to check purses. I have never been to a movie theater before where my purse had to get checked. The woman saw my camera, and in no way was going to let me off the hook for not knowing, and not even having a car to put it in. So ridiculous! The woman i was dealing with (apparently one of the managers) was quite rude, and her attitude really made the rest of my experience there unenjoyable. Get over yourselves! This place really sucks. Davis needs a REAL movie theater! —ASQWIK

2008-06-24 01:33:17   Don't go here unless you enjoy somepne waving an orange flashlight around the theater randomly throughout the movie. Somehow they always seem to come in during cruicial parts. If approach mangement about the issue they respond too bad. That they have to check the exits are closed and no one sneaks in. That is great except for that they are punishing their paying customers for the actions of their non paying customers. I've not gone back since and never plan to. —johnharth

2008-06-24 15:49:38   Actually, here is the real story. Regal Corporate is responsible for this. Regal will deny managers monetary bonuses if the secret shoppers in the theaters do not see an usher come into the theater and check the auditorium the required number of times per show. The employees have no other option but to comply with Regal's corporate policy. It is distracting and disruptive. Feel free to write to Regal's corporate office and tell them that this policy is bad and they are losing customers due to it. If enough people tell corporate this, it might cause them to change. —Jedron

2008-11-27 00:40:48   Freakin' A dude, i went to see a movie, SAW V, with my friend. A scary movie indeed and some staff person keeps opening the doors letting the light in, totally ruined it. It's a scary movie and it's only good if you watch it in the dark!! —vietgirlwithappetite

2009-01-09 14:40:57   why the hell is the manager/owner of the theater commenting on this page? —boing3887

  • It's allowed. The idea is that everyone gets to comment, and then if someone looks at the page they get the whole picture, rather than one side, and then they can decide for themselves. —JoePomidor
  • I think that it is good that managers care enough to read these comments. This will help them improve the movie theater experience for customers. I don't work for Regal, but I do know some people who work for them. I learned about the policy of having ushers walk through the theaters and check the auditoriums that way. —MaxLucas

2009-02-07 10:10:27   Boy, I'm lucky; I live Salem(Keizer)Oregon and we have great theatres all over town plus new complex' in nearby cities.I live for my popcorn fix and esp the orange seasonings added and often stop by and buy just popcorn and go home and watch a rented movie w/the wife. The employees are usually very efficient partially because some of the managers have been here for years and as a "old person"(55)I like the clean theatres, video games, and many, many screens we have...plus we often pick different theatres in nearby cities so we can eat at a new restaurant nearby. Hope things get better in Davis! Regal has done well for us. —rocknrich

2009-03-26 10:33:21   I don't understand why there are so many negative comments about this theater! I've gone to this theater my entire life and I've had nothing but good, or at least decent, experiences. I've never had to deal with rude employees, messy seats, or other slip-ups on the part of the management. Davis is a small town, believe it or not, and the theater is just fine for it. On a scale of the Brenden Theater in Vacaville (which is also owned by Regal...I think) being the top and the State Theater in Woodland being the bottom I'd say that the Cinemas 6 is much closer to Brenden. I would say the only thing they really need is better seats, but even then, they're not that bad. It's just a slightly above average small town movie theater.

I was wondering though, do they still do retro films? —JamesHaile

  • They no longer show retro films. However, it would be great if they brought back them back. Brenden Theatres is independent and is not owned by Regal. —MaxLucas

2009-04-14 16:00:48   To: Michelle Lindstrom, General Manager, Davis Holiday 6. No offense but the seating in this theatre is outdated. Why on earth would you premier the new Star Trek movie at Holiday 6 and not Stadium 5 on G St? I think I will make the drive to Vacaville or Sacramento in lieu of staring at the back of peoples heads. Anonymous

  • I've always heard its because Holiday Cinema has better surround sound, but I don't know why this is. —NickSchmalenberger

2009-06-26 23:11:07   The bigger movies are still played here because the seating capacity is larger than at the 5-screener. That theater was a half-assed job overall- it was built mostly to discourage any would-be competitors from building any new theaters in Davis- little did anyone know the owners would later sell out to Satan, AKA Regal Cinemas.

I worked here from 1991 til 2000 (also filling in at the Cinema 2 and then the Stadium 5 when needed)- it was my home away from home. Ironically I left to work at the Regal Natomas 16 theater in Sacramento, but after working for them for a year and seeing what sort of company they are, I became disillusioned with the movie theater business and went to work in a different area. I just about died from both laughing and crying when I heard Regal had bought the company I'd previously worked for.

Now for the fun facts: construction began on this theater in fall 1988 and didn't open for business until December 22, 1989. Even then only 4 screens were running. I wasn't working there yet but I attended the very first movie that started, Blaze starring Paul Newman in theater #1. Also playing that first week were The War Of The Roses in #6, Family Business in #3, and She-Devil in #2 in the evenings split with The Bear for matinees. Not a lot of trailers were shown during the first few months the theater was open (some movies ran with no previews beforehand at all), but by the time I'd started working there they were receiving plenty and showing as many as possible. The first movie to be shown on 2 screens was Lethal Weapon 3 in 1992.

The sound equipment was new at the time- Dolby CP-55s with A-type noise reduction, and QSC amps. In 1993 the processors in screens 1 and 6 were replaced with CP-65s adding SR noise reduction. DTS digital sound was added to those screens in 1996, the week before Independence Day premiered. (The DTS unit from the Cinema 2 was sometimes moved over and installed in screen #1 if the movie playing there wasn't in DTS). The DTS unit in #6 died in 1999, it was taken out for repairs and a Dolby Digital system from a recently-closed theater was put in its place and the DTS was re-installed in #5. Screens 2, 3 and 4 were still only equipped for analog sound by the time I left in 2000, but last time I visited those screens had gotten hand-me-down SDDS systems from one of the company's other theaters. Around that time they also changed the way the screens were numbered, but I always consider the one on the right-hand side of the lobby as #1. The projectors themselves are old- they appear to be 1950s-era but were always being maintained so that they worked about as good as new. I never heard the exact reason for that (I'm guessing $$$ was the main one), though when the Stadium 5 theater opened everything there was brand-new.

Those in charge of this theater during its first years were more quality-oriented than those of the big chains like Syufy and United Artists, but in 1993 they had succumbed to greed and installed slide projectors which showed tacky and insulting advertising slides along with movie trivia with often mis-spelled and inaccurate information. Surprisingly, very few customers complained about them, which must have encouraged Regal to replace them with video projectors shortly after they had taken over.

Prior to 1998, projectionists had a reasonable amount of control over the music played during intermission, though most of the time it was elevator music CDs. In 1998 the theater started receiving CDs from MovieTunes, which had a selection of current popular music with an annoying announcer in between. These of course had to go after the video ad system was installed. —AlanSmithee

2009-06-26 23:42:15   Forgot to mention- Surround EX (a separate surround channel for the back wall speakers, matrixed as a center-channel from the left and right surround tracks) was installed in theaters 1 and 6 in 1999, before the opening of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Theater 5 got it put in a year or so later, though there's never been any advertising for them. I've never seen any theaters advertise EX and couldn't tell you which others in the area have it, though I've found it isn't usually a big deal anyways and most film don't even indicate whether they use it or not.

In January 2000, the theater underwent a minor re-modeling where for 3 weeks two screens at a time were closed for a week. Mainly, the seats were taken out and put back in with the rows farther apart from each other. The acoustic panels on the walls were taken down and put up in a different arrangement, and the surround speakers on the back walls of theaters 2-5 were re-positioned for digital sound with split surrounds (before there had been an odd number of speakers on the back walls) but digital sound equipment wasn't installed til more than a year later. —AlanSmithee

2009-07-06 23:43:58   I got out of a movie (The Proposal) after midnight on the fourth of July. There was no one visible inside the theatre while we were leaving, which made me a little uncomfortable. The street outside was totally empty and quiet. As I went around the corner, I saw someone stealing my girlfriend's bike. They only got off with her tire, but if we had gotten out a few minutes later her brand new bike would probably be totally gone.

Please join me and ask this Regal to put bike racks IN FRONT OF THE THEATRE whenever you're there.

It's absolutely retarded to have like twenty bike racks around the corner with horrible lighting and low traffic at night.

FIX THIS REGAL, YOU'VE GOT PLENTY OF ROOM OUT FRONT! (Just look at the picture above, and at the Regal 5 which does have bike racks out front.) —OrofinJackson

  • Do you really think they're going to tear up the concrete to place bike racks to prevent you from having your bike stolen? Do you have any idea how expensive it would be to rip up the concrete and place new bike racks in? It would probably purchase 5 more of your girlfriend's bikes (and yes, even if your girlfriend has an expensive roadbike). That's not their business, they sell tickets to see movies, they don't sell tickets for bike protection. Get a better lock on your bike.

2009-09-15 14:33:18   I saw a sign on the window saying it was 'now offering' student discounts Sun-Thursday. Does that mean they won't offer student discounts on Fridays and Saturdays? :( —ChristyMarsden

2009-12-16 16:15:18   This theater's 20th birthday is next week! Too bad probably none of the people working there now were even born then! When I am rich I will buy it back and save it from the Regal Nazis! —AlanSmithee

2010-02-23 20:40:51   Went here today, thinking that since Avatar's been out for over 9 weeks it would be on their $5 Tuesday thing. Found out that it's not, because it's in 3d (which I actually would prefer not to have) and that also as a result they are charging a "3D fee" as well. I'm not about to pay $13.50 to see a movie that's been out for over two months. —JoePomidor

2010-02-23 21:34:38   I very much prefer heading over to Woodland for movies. I don't remember exact prices off the top of my head, but it's at least a couple of bucks cheaper at all times at both theaters. Parking is also a lot better, at least at the one on Gibson, and movies are generally less crowded. —TomGarberson

-I will defintely agree with that. A matinee in Woodland is $4.50. This price stays the same on the weekends, which I'm not sure is true for Davis theaters. —AmLin

2010-12-26 21:04:42   4 out of 6 screens now have digital projection systems instead of traditional film, and the remaining 2 are supposed to be converted in the next few months. This SHOULD result in lower admission prices, since that means they can now operate with one less person on duty, plus they're making tons of money on all those ads they're showing now. The original ticket prices when this theater opened was $6, and even THAT was pushing it. —AlanSmithee

— Movie theaters will never lower their prices. They will continue to increase their ticket prices as they have always done. The new digital projectors cost thousands of dollars more than traditional film projectors. The only way for them to recoup the added cost of new projectors is to increase their ticket and concession prices. It was never about saving money for customers, it was always about finding a new justification for price increases. Now that they are showing moves in 3D, they have an excuse to deny customers the $5 Tuesday discount price. The outrageous ticket prices are driving customers away. People are staying at home and waiting for movies to come out on DVD. Why pay $13.50 when you can rent a DVD for $1? —MaxLucas

  • There has been talk for a few months about the theatres lowering their prices soon for that very reason. The cost has become prohibitive for many and the switch to digital will help them to reduce labor cost as well. You wil begin to see lower prices soon though. Not only are the Davis Theatres losing sales to DVD and pirated copies online, they are also losing to more traditional RL theatres, such as the ones in Woodland which have much lower fees. There was an article in the Aggie and the Enterprise a few months back about the reduction of rates.

My biggest beef with the theatres is not the general prices (although I think it's extremely high and can't really afford to spend $10.00 or more on a matinee which is absolutely ridiculous). My beef is the outright lies told by the staff and the corporations. A lot of films have been coming out in 3D lately and these always cost more ($11.25 now on the matinees). Ask the staff if it is because of them being 3d, the answer is no. Ask them if it is because you're paying for the glasses, either as a rental or purchase, and the answer is again no. In fact they will tell you there is no fee for the glasses because they are to be either re-used or recycled. SO, if you aren't paying higher fees because of the glasses, and you aren't paying higher fees because they are 3D, just why in the hell are all the 3D prices higher than non-3D films? Answer, they won't say. They just lie through their teeth. THAT, more than the already outlandish prices, is what really irks me. — Wes-P

— The real bad guy in all of this are the movie studios. Movie studios are the ones that demand a huge chunk of the ticket price. Theaters make very little money off of ticket sales. They make money off of concessions sales. Movie studios put pressure on theaters to keep increasing ticket prices so that the studios make as much money as possible. 3D movies cost more to book from the studios. So the cost gets passed on to customers. The 3D fee is not for the glasses. The fee is for the 3D projection. Regal pays RealD in order to show 3D movies. Most low wage employees do not know how to explain the fee to customers because they don't understand how the entire movie booking system works. It may seem like they are lying, but really it is just that they don't know how it works. There are dollar theaters in this country run by Cinemark in places such as Texas. At those theaters the cost of booking several month old movie prints is very low compared to new movie prints. They can offer tickets for just $1 because the movie studio charges so little for those prints. The theater instead makes money off of concession sales. A $7 popcorn would only cost the theater a fraction of that price. Ticket prices are dictated by movie studios. —MaxLucas

  • To an extent, I'll buy that. But the theatres still set the prices. For the same Film 'Tron: Legacy 3d' matinee pricing: In Woodland it's $7.50, in San Jose at the AMC it's $8.75, Sacramento three theatres ranging from $9.25 to $11.00. Here in Davis $11.25. So the "Studios set the prices" line doesn't hold true with this. The studios do have a 'set viewing rate' which they charge the theatres which has very little variance from theatre to theatre. They have 5 different tiers for cost (3d or non 3d, number of screens showing the film, age of film, market of film [region it is shown in], and key market theatres). The cost of the film after this is completely dependant upon the individual theatres. Normally, these theatres will base it upon average average attendance. So let's say the average film will cost the theatre $3,500.00 - $5,500 per month (Yes, this is what they cost the theatres). Opening Weekend you will have the majority of the cinema packed for up to 6 viewings. Average it out per ticket x 100 (going very light on attendance here) x 3 + (per ticket x 50 x3 {matinee}) With the average theatre cost around $10.00 and the Matinee average at 7-8.00 you end up with this: ($10.00 x 100 x 3) + (7.50 x 50 x 3)= $4125.00 per day opening weekend average. Now by the nex week this total will be reduced by approximately 40%, followed by another 65% drop the following week normally. bottom line is the Theatre makes it money back on the film opening weekend, and the rest of the month is pure profits from the viewing minus employee wages, utilities and so on. Now if the film is a flop, it will do extremely well opening day and the sales will dimish with each following day, however the theatres still make more than fair share of profits for the month off of even these clunkers.

It is costly to obtain the films, up to $5.5k. But if you or anyone else tries to tell me the films are cost prohibitive to the point where they need to charge over $10.00 for any film at present and you actually believe this to be true, I have a good chunk of land to sell you just outside the Bermuda Triangle, you'll love it. Add the extremely high priced concessions in to the over-inflated costs of the films and the theatres make out like bandits. Now it's time to put your thinking cap on really quick here. If it were truly that cost prohibitive to the point that the theatre can barely afford the film (ie: Only makes money off the concessions on the "$7.00 popcorn") do you Honestly think there would be so may theatres around today? I think not. It's an extremely profitable business. Okay then, if you look at the numbers Just for Regal Cinemas, you know, our 'friendly" local theatre company, the profits for the last decade have steadily risen every. single. year. They'll talk about "profit decline" and other fancy ways of saying they're losing money, but the cold hard fact is that just this one company made $31.4 million in pure profits by the end of Sept. of this year (Q3 alone). Last year, same time, 28.9 million. Each quarter has shown growth for the last decade. They keep talking loss though, how? Because the profits are rising at a slower rate than they predicted they would by a tune of over 18.5%. So, because their profits are increasing at a slower pace than they wished they would, they call it a decline in sales yet the profits continue to climb. Meanwhile, we get stuck holding the bag, along with all the excuses and pay higher and higher fees every time a new film comes out. You did say one thing I agree with wholeheartedly, the Movie Studios are the bad guys. But hey, they're just trying to make a buck. Want to know a secret? They'd make a whole lot more with lower ticket prices. Sure, 100 people are jumping in line opening day to see the new 'Hi Sucker' film (and you tell me when was the last time you only saw 100 people on opening night for any film?) and they buy the ticket at $10.00. You just made $1,000.00 in one viewing. Bang! But now you lower the price to $8.00 and get maybe 150 people to show up. Guess what? You just made an extra 200 bucks. It's simple economics. Sure you will hit a breaking point, a point where it no longer becomes cost effective to lower the price, but it sure as heck isn't $11, like it is now for some films here in Davis, it's not $10, it's not $9.00 I doubt it is even $ 8.00 but I'll stop there. And these are night time prices people, not matinee. Bottom line, if the theatre is trying to make you believe they don't make very much off the film itself, it's BS, plain and simple. Otherwise we'd have a huge popcorn factory that served overpriced kernels and water all day long with no entertainment. The only truth in the statement that they make more on the concessions than they do on the films is if they are talking about profit % because yes, they might only make 40-55% profit off a film they're showing but they are making up to 800% profit if not more with every single popcorn or soda they sell. But in actual dollars, not percentages, they make a killing on the films, more money than the concessions. And that's the bottom line. Personally, I'm sick of getting screwed and, as much as I want to watch Tron playing right now, or True Grit, coming soon or any other film... I'd rather just wait for the DVD or for it to show up on the small screen because at $11.25 it's nothing short of rape.— Wes-P

  • I saw "The Last Legion" on opening night in 2007. Dropped off a friend's teen-aged kids to see a different movie, and we elected to see the Last Legion. I think there were, at most, 15 people in the theater on opening night. Granted, it was one of the worst movies ever, and is an exception. —DavidGrundler

2010-12-27 04:08:36   Just as an extra point on why it's crud to pay so much for tickets in Davis (or anywhere, for that matter):

Total U.S. Ticket Sales 2010 to date: 1,254,569,705 Total Box Office Gross Sales 2010 to date: $9,848,372,189 Median ticket cost in the U.S.: $7.85 (and we pay more than that for a matinee here in Davis where our median cost is about $9.75 now counting Tuesdays, matinees and evening fees)

This is the median price of all the theatres in the US, counting Matinee (which is just over half the cost of an evening ticket at the majority of theatres nationwide) and Evening ticket prices Nationwide.

And out on top is Regal Cinemas with the highest profit margin of any other theatre with $696.4 Million dollars in 100% pure, after tax, after studio fees and employee wages PROFIT. —Wes-P

2010-12-27 11:10:55   So, what would you consider reasonable profit? How much per screen? —DavidGrundler

2010-12-27 11:41:43   Netflix for the win! —TomGarberson

  • What Tom said. We hardly ever go out to the movies anymore. I think I could actually live with the cost if it weren't such a miserable experience sitting through all of the ads at the "beginning" of the movie. Who profits from those, the theatre or the movie studios or both? In any case, for me those ads are a deal-breaker. It's one thing to get ripped off, it's another thing to get ripped off and then to be a captive audience for people trying to shove products down your throat. I haven't even been to the Varsity Theater in awhile — at last count, though, they did not show ads (I'm not including previews here) and were less expensive. Is that still true, does anyone know? —CovertProfessor

2010-12-27 12:01:40   Ed, you are obviously upset and feel it is unreasonable. So, I just want to know the dollar amount where it goes from reasonable to unreasonable. Yes, Wes threw out some numbers, but thankfully he included the link. $696.4 million is not the "pure profits by the end of Sept. of this year" as he claims. Read the report. $696.4 million is the total operating revenues from Admissions, concessions, and other revenue sources before expenses are considered. Actual profit for Regal (if I am reading the report correctly) for the most recent quarter is $42.6 million, and for the first nine months of the year is $63.9 million. If you divide the profit out by the number of screens that Regal has, that gives Regal a profit for the first nine months of the year of $9,500 per screen... —DavidGrundler

  • alright, I looked at the numbers incorrectly and after reviewing them did more research. Let's just look at one quarter (q3 this year ending Sept.2010) The bottom line is this: They have steadily increased the ticket prices while the operating fees have remained virtually the same (dropping only 200k to 27.3 million from 27.5 million for the quarter) and they have managed to increase profits while losing over a million customers compared to the same quarter the previous year. So what's happening? Operating fees are decreasing, ticket sales are decreasing, prices are rising and so are total profits. So, my original thought still holds true, reduce the cost of per ticket sales, and they regain (potentially) the million customers they lost in the last year if not gain a lot more. Right now, the actual profit, per screen, per quarter is about 6.5 k with an average profit per theatre, per quarter of 75k+ this gives us the after tax revenue of 31.4 million on 542 theatres per quarter. Key words there being per quarter. Multiply this by 4 quarters (one fiscal year) and it's about 300k per annum for each theatre with a decline in attendance of 1845+ guests per theatre (one million/542) now reduce the cost per sale and watch the attendance rise back up including these customers, like myself and many others who have commented here, and either meet or exceed the one million guests lost. Once again, if you thinki they're losing money right now you're wrong, if you think they couldn't make more money by reducing the fees, you're wrong. Same goes for concessions. Used to be, I would go to the theatre and buy a ticket for my group, we would all buy concessions and all sit back and watch the film. Now, if I go do get to go into the theatre (which happens about once a year vs once or twice a month) noone in my group (usually of five to six people) buys concessions either because they are just far too outrageously priced. So again, lower the costs all around and sales will fly, keep raising the cost and the theatres will die, eventually, but not until they becoem so cost prohibitive that only the elite can afford them. I am amazed to find that in this economy the only companies who have found a way to profit with no losses monetarily are Gas companies, Cable companies, such as Comcast, and Theatres. That will change though.— Wes
    • While I agree with you that Regal prices are too high in Davis, and Regal would probably do better with lower prices, your numbers are still wrong. Look again at the report that you link. First, costs to the theater are going up. Film rental, advertising, and rent all went up. Costs of concessions went down. Second, here is where I think your numbers are flawed. You said, "Right now, the actual profit, per screen, per quarter is about 6.5 k with an average profit per theatre, per quarter of 75k+." This is true because you are counting the one-time sale of NCM, Inc. common stock that Regal held. If you drop out this one-time sale, Regal operated at a loss for the quarter. As you can see, they operated at a loss in the same quarter last year. If you look at the first nine months numbers, which give a better picture than the most recent quarter, Regal is making approximately $63.9 million profit for the first nine months. (Roughly $9500/screen for nine months, or $12,675/screen for 12 months.) Keep in mind that also includes the sale of NCM, Inc. common stock. That would seem to suggest the average for a six-screen theater is ~$75,000 per year. Also, keep in mind that the movie-year does not see even revenues from week to week. Certain weekends are huge compared to other weekends. For example, Memorial Day and Fourth of July weekends are usually really big. It is best to look at the data for an entire year. Contrary to most people's beliefs, the profit margin on theaters is quite low. That is why so many independents have been forced out. These companies make money by operating thousands of screens and leveraging economies of scale. —DavidGrundler
      • I totally agree. Movie theater prices are too high. However, many independent theaters have been closing down over the years. It is very difficult for indie movie theaters to survive with such low profit margins. These days, big movie theater chains are the only ones left in most cities across the country. Most people don't know this, but even the big movie theater chains have had a hard time in the past. Regal, Cinemark, United Artists, Edwards Cinemas, Loews, etc. have all had to file for bankruptcy within the past 10 years. Regal Entertainment Group is the result of what happened when United Artists, Edwards Cinemas, and Regal Cinemas failed. An investor bought these bankrupt chains and formed a new company. The movie theater business is far from stable. It is a risky business. Even now, Regal has a large amount of debt. If movie theaters lose large numbers of customers, we could see major theater chains go bankrupt again. MaxLucas

2010-12-27 22:07:24   Maybe prices are high in Davis because of high demand and little competition. Unless you want to drive out of town, you only have one theater per movie.

Having said that, I rarely go to the movies any more unless it's a really good film. Prices are just too high, and if it isn't something like Avatar that really benefits from being seen in a theater, I'd rather wait for DVD or iTunes. Why watch a comedy or drama in the theater when for 1/3 of the money I can see it at home, pause it, invite people over, bring my own food, and not have people talking during the film? For non-fx laden films, the home experience is often better and much cheaper. —IDoNotExist

2011-01-10 15:52   If you want to see a movie with no heat in January, today's the day to head on down to Regal, where they will cheerfully sell you full-price tickets to sit for 2+ hours to watch the movie of your choice. Free frosty toes, fingers, and nose with ticket purchase. Bring your own blankets or, better yet, WAIT FOR ANOTHER DAY TO WATCH A MOVIE HERE.

To be fair, there is a sign saying they have HVAC problems. But just going in for a moment to see if it's cold won't give you a good idea of the temperature. Here's what will - sit outside on the sidewalk for 2 hours. This rant/ snarky community warning brought to you by the cold, tingling fingertips of JoRo.

Update: This heating issue may continue all week. I asked them to post the actual temp. so that customers could make an informed decision on whether or not to purchase tickets. They said they would tell customers "if they asked". So ask. I found that 45-50 degrees was far too cold for mid-afternoon, but maybe you have a better constitution than I. —JoRo

2012-08-14 00:08:10   Wow, looks like Regal has done a great job with this theater lately- not. Anyways, here's some video I shot mostly in the projection booth in 1994: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnFjX8PMiqI

As mentioned earlier, this theater is now using digital projection instead of film. —AlanSmithee

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