Marcus Arnold Cinema is providing moviegoers with an early Christmas present.
Renovations at the 14-auditorium movie theatre, 1912 Richardson Road, were completed Nov. 1, and customers are giving the improvements rave reviews, general manager Tammy Carlton said.
“They are loving it,” she said. “They love the new experience.”
Renovations, which started at the end of July, touched nearly every part of the theatre.
Two SuperScreen DLX auditoriums were installed. Those new auditoriums feature an oversized screen, a Dolby Atmos multidimensional sound system and DreamLounger reclining seats, complete with a heating option.
The other 12 auditoriums have been equipped with DreamLoungers, but those do not have a heating option.
Carlton said the new DreamLounger seats provide more comfort than the former auditorium seating.
“They get an at-home feeling,” Carlton said. “You go from sitting upright to being able to hit a button and go into a reclining position.
“Everything turned out great. It is like a whole different experience.”
The theatre’s lobby, concession stand and arcade also were updated, and improvements were made to the parking lot.
Julie Caan, communications and media relations specialist for Marcus Theatres, said the company, which is headquartered in Milwaukee, does not release construction costs, although she did say the theatre chain made a significant investment in the Arnold cinema.
Carlton said the auditorium renovations were completed in three phases. Five auditoriums were closed during the first phase, four were closed during phase two and five during phase three.
The first SuperScreen auditorium, which is auditorium No. 1, was completed during the first phase, and the second SuperScreen auditorium, which is auditorium No. 14, was completed during the final phase.
The first movies to be shown on the new bigger screens were “Ford v Ferrari” and “Midway.”
New carpeting was installed throughout the building, and the arcade got new games, like a sit-down version of the arcade classic Space Invaders, along with Jurassic Park and The Walking Dead games.
“Our game room is phenomenal,” Carlton said. “Even if guests are not coming to see a movie, they are coming for our game room.”
The parking lot was repaved, which not only made the area safer for patrons but also allows the theatre to have outdoor promotions, Carlton said.
A snow bus, which is like a bubble bus but instead sprays manufactured snow, was brought in on Nov. 22 to coincide with the first weekend “Frozen 2” was shown in theatres, she said.
“We weren’t able to do that before because our parking lot wasn’t the best,” Carlton said.
Before the renovations were complete, the 14 auditoriums could seat between 108 and 258 people. With the new, larger reclining seats, the auditoriums seat between 48 and 129 people.
Ticket prices did increase some. Admission for evening shows is $12, and the theatre offers $6 for movies before 11 a.m. daily, as well as other deals throughout the week.
Carlton said the theatre has used Facebook and mailed coupons to area homes to let people know about the recently completed upgrades.
She said more than 200 people redeemed coupons on Nov. 16, and she has seen an increase in attendance for Friday morning’s Young at Heart program, which is geared toward seniors and offers tickets for $6.
“Prior to renovations, we would see about 50 seniors,” Carlton said. “Now that we are completely renovated, our Young at Heart program has increased extremely. That crowd is coming out more. It went to about 150 people coming in. I definitely have to increase my staffing.”
Carlton said Tuesday has become the busiest day at the theatre, thanks to Marcus Cinema’s $5 Tuesday deal, and she expects that day to become even busier now that the new amenities have been completed.
“On our $5 Tuesday, we could see about 200 guests prior to the renovation, now we are seeing double that amount,” Carlton said. “When school is out, we expect to be busy all day.”
Carlton said the renovations were completed just in time for some big holiday movie releases and Marcus Cinema’s retro-holiday movie series.
Right now “Frozen 2” is being shown in the SuperScreen auditoriums. When “Jumanji: The Next Level” opens Dec. 12 and “Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker” on Dec. 19, they will be shown in those auditoriums.
The Holiday Classics Retro Series will run from Dec. 6-19, when “White Christmas,” “Elf” and “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” will be shown. Admission for those shows will be $6.