BELOIT—Classic Cinemas Beloit Theatre, 2799 Cranston Road, reported the most traffic this week since its opening due to its premium large format movie screen, the block-buster super-hero movie “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and word spreading about the facility’s many upgrades.
“In the last seven days we’ve had 8,762 people. Our occupancy is 38% for the average movie. The occupancy on Spider-Man has been around 80 to 90% as well as sell-outs,” said Classic Cinemas CEO Chris Johnson in a Wednesday interview.
“Sing 2” also sold out on Wednesday.
Colton Spaeth and his wife, Haley Spaeth, who recently moved to Beloit from Janesville, were among the many people enjoying “Spider-Man:No Way Home” on Wednesday at the Beloit theater. When the couple saw the last “Spiderman” flick they found out they were pregnant with their son.
“I wonder what we will find out this year,” Colton said.
The two said they liked the upgraded theater and their visit was their first big outing since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Classic Cinemas purchased what was once Schubert Luxury 10 Theaters in November of 2019.
“This is an underserved market and had a ton of potential,” Johnson said.
It invested more than $1 million in upgrades during the heart of the pandemic and while being mostly closed for a year. Despite its challenges, people are flocking back as evidenced by a big crowd on Wednesday afternoon.
“From where it was in 2019 to where it is now is insane,” Johnson said. “It’s doing two to three times better than it was in 2019. It’s fantastic.”
Its reviews have also increased from 3.8 out of 5 ranking on Google reviews to having a 4.7 rank.
“To go from 3.8 to a 4.7 speaks for itself,” Johnson said. “We are going to do everything we possibly can to have people engaged and excited about coming.”
Based in Downers Grove, Illinois, Classic Cinemas is a family-owned movie exhibitor with 14 locations in northern Illinois including its one Wisconsin site in Beloit making for 15 locations. The Beloit theater has 10 screens.
When it was purchased there were around 100,000 people a year coming through. Now, it’s on track to have more than 250,000 people a year once the movie supplies are fully back, Johnson said.
During the shutdown the new owners added improvements such as new reclining and temperature-control seats and increasing wall thickness to prevent sound from being heard from neighboring movie viewing rooms. Classic Cinemas also added some accents to the exterior of the building to make it more apparent it’s open and continue to improve the facility as it works to build up its audience again.
“We put put neon bands on the exterior. One of the problems with this theater is that it’s challenging to find. We put on new digital signage and are still planning on working on the exterior and interior,” Johnson said.
In the last month Classic Cinemas replaced all the projection equipment in the entire building. Beloit’s auditorium #3, which was playing “Spider-Man: No Way Home” on Wednesday, has a new premium large format experience Johnson calls “XQ” for exceptional quality. Familiar premium large format brands in the area include IMAX at AMC Rockford.
With 4K laser projection on a giant screen with immersive audio, Johnson said guests can see, hear and experience more. While all the auditoriums are upgraded, its laser is the most advanced projection technology available and its DTS:X is the best in sound.
“You get the best resolution possible with vivid colors and deeper contrast on an extra large low grain widescreen, allowing for a brighter and more uniform picture. DTS:X sound uses speakers all over the room and in the ceiling to create a multidimensional sound experience,” he said.
Not only has the cinema brought on the latest technologies but also has strong staff in place, Johnson said.
The general manager is Bob Parella, who has been with the business for more than 20 years. Eric Newnham is a newly hired manager with local connections as well as to the film and commercial industry.
Despite taking Beloit’s theater over during COVID-19, Johnson said it’s made tremendous progress.
“Most of the things we do are singles and doubles. This is a home run and we are proud of it,” Johnson said.