COVER STORY : Preview of Coming Attractions : Cinema chains may launch the war of the multiplexes in the West Valley. If the planned screens are built, it could be good news for moviegoers.

Several of the nation’s largest cinema chains are threatening to turn the west San Fernando Valley into a battleground, pitting new multiplexes against existing theaters in a high-stakes clash.

And moviegoers could emerge as the biggest winners.

If exhibitors such as AMC Theatres and Pacific Theatres make good on recently announced plans, the number of screens in and around Woodland Hills would increase from 16 to more than 50. Movie marquees would abound and new theaters would feature up-to-date amenities. But industry experts wonder if there are enough viewers to fill so many seats.

“It would be highly competitive,” said John Krier, president of Exhibitor Relations, a Los Angeles consulting group. “One (cinema) would cannibalize the other.”

Pacific Theatres is scheduled to wade into the fray first, announcing the Christmas, 1995, opening of a 20-screen complex at Victory and Topanga Canyon boulevards. One block south, at the Promenade mall, AMC has received preliminary approval for a 16-screen project. Meanwhile, a mile away, the General Cinema at Fallbrook Mall will expand from seven to 10 screens in 1995 and United Artists is considering changes to its six-screen complex in Warner Center.

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s good,” said Rana Linka, a neighborhood resident and board member of the West Hills Property Owners Assn. “With more theaters, there will be more competition. Maybe ticket prices will go down and we will have a wider array of movies to see.”

West Hills residents are not alone in hearing the clatter of movie projectors on the horizon. Granada Hills will get a new nine-screen Mann Theatre in mid-December. The Calabasas City Council has approved plans for a Mann 8 at Las Virgenes and Agoura roads and has been considering a hotly debated proposal for a United Artists eight-screen complex at Parkway Calabasas and Calabasas Road. Agoura Hills officials also are studying plans for a development that would include a multiplex.

But none of these communities have felt the industry fervor that has descended upon the West Valley.

“We think it is one of the best zones in the entire metropolitan area,” said Dick Walsh, a senior vice president for AMC. “The population is strong, there are high moviegoing demographics and good disposable income, all the things you look for in a movie theater location.”

General Cinema, United Artists and Pacific are the only three cinemas currently operating in the area. So, industry experts said, expansion was inevitable.

“All these companies recognized that this area was underdeveloped, and they all started working on projects at the same time,” said Tim Warner, president of the National Assn. of Theatre Owners of California and Nevada. “The number of proposed screens far exceeds the norm.”

The movie theater industry divides itself into zones, areas with sufficient population to support a cluster of theaters. In rural areas, a zone might extend 15 miles. In a densely populated suburb, it might encompass only a few square miles. Traditionally, the industry has assumed that each zone will support from 13 to 24 screens. Proposed developments in the West Valley would double that standard.

This flurry of interest comes at a time of unprecedented box office success. Fed by hits such as “Forrest Gump” and “The Lion King,” the summer of 1994 could eclipse last summer with as much as $2.2 billion in ticket sales.

But audiences are not the only consideration when it comes to building a theater. There are a limited number of movies to go around. If a new Arnold Schwarzenegger film opens at one complex, for instance, it will not appear at neighboring cinemas. Chains must compete for desired titles.

“Their past relationship with the distributor is important,” Krier said. “And their past performance with grosses.”

The specter of unusually heated competition in the West Valley leads some experts to suspect that Pacific and the other chains have entered into an expensive game of chicken.

“It’s not unusual that these types of situations occur within the industry,” Warner said. “The companies are not allowed, because of antitrust laws, to talk to each other while these projects are in the early stages of development. They can’t call their competitor and say, ‘Are you working on a project in this area?’ ”

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Only recently, when the projects were publicly announced, did opposing chains see the full picture. Warner predicts that one or more of the companies might back off.

In fact, 20 years ago no one would have dared to suggest building so many theaters so near each other. The industry used to adhere to a “clearance” standard with zones that extended seven miles between theaters.

“The idea of clearance,” Krier muses. “It’s practically nonexistent now.”

The change took place in increments. Cinemas were built closer and closer together. Existing theaters added more and more screens.

The Pacific Topanga, for instance, began as a single-screen theater in 1968. It added a second screen in 1972 and a third in 1992. It has 925 seats. The new complex will cover 70,000 square feet and include 4,500 seats.

Such changes have forced theaters to alter their relationships with studios. In the past, chains held exclusive rights to show a particular studio’s first-run movies. These pacts, to some degree, have fallen by the wayside.

In 1981, the Baldwin Hills Theater sued Mann and Warner Bros., claiming that the defendants unfairly restrained trade by barring film distributors from playing a film at the Baldwin if Mann had booked the movie in one of its Westwood theaters nine miles away. A 1984 settlement allowed the Baldwin equal access to first-run films.

Similar disputes could arise in the West Valley.

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“I’m sure it would create economic hardships in the market area because of the lack of the number of films and the potential audience,” Warner explained.

On the other hand, if all the proposed theaters are built, Linka and her neighbors would enjoy a wider selection of films. This would be especially true with foreign and specialized movies. At this point, only the Laemmle Town Center 5 in Encino plays art films on a regular basis. At AMC, Walsh said that West Valley residents are sophisticated enough to support such films. And Pacific is eager to provide yet another outlet.

“We’re looking to bring a lot of product that hasn’t been played in the area before,” said Chan Wood, the chain’s head film buyer. “There will be more art-type product and the bigger picture, the so-called ‘Forrest Gump,’ will play longer. There will be multiple screens and multiple show times.”

New multiplexes also would feature such popular amenities as 70-millimeter projection, advanced sound systems and ATM ticket dispensers. Officials at the Promenade mall are anxious to add splashy technology. At their mall, the proposed 60,000-square-foot AMC multiplex would include digital sound in every theater. It would also abut a new food court and a bookstore.

“If you just look at the area, we don’t have the concentration of theaters that you might see on the Westside or other parts of the city,” said Kim Solomon, the Promenade’s general manager. “We’re hopeful (the AMC theaters) will increase traffic through the mall.”

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Only time will tell if this and other proposals come to pass. When asked about the future, Mann Theatres spokesman Bill Hertz unleashes a string of “no comments.” At United Artists--where management will not discuss its plans--spokesman Bill Quigley admits to being concerned.

“Obviously it’s going to be an incredibly competitive zone,” Quigley said. “Sometimes theaters are announced and not built. Personally, I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”

But no one is backing off. AMC officials say they are anxious to obtain building permits and are pointing toward a summer 1995 opening. Pacific seems intent on leading the frenzy.

“We’re proceeding on a very, very fast track,” said Milton Moritz, a spokesman for the chain. “We can only speak from our standpoint. We feel there are certainly enough people in the area to serve our new complex.”

And residents are keeping their fingers crossed.

“I guess there might be some second-guessing (within the industry),” said Bob Gross, president of the Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization. “But for us, it’s a win-win situation.”

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1) General Cinema is currently a seven-screen complex. It plans to expand to 10 screens by 1995.

2) The Pacific Topanga is currently a 925-seat triplex. By 1995 it will debut as a 20-screen, 4,500-seat complex.

3) AMC will replace the old Saks Fifth Avenue building at the Promenade mall, including a 16-screen theater, a food court and bookstore.

4) United Artists operates a six-screen complex nearby. The chain is considering changes.