PERSPECTIVE : Will 1-Screen Theaters Find a Happy Ending?

Orange County’s love affair with the silver screen seems to know no bounds.

Two months ago, Edwards Cinemas opened a 21-screen multiplex known as the “Big One” in Irvine with all the hoopla and bright searchlights of an old-fashioned Hollywood premiere. Not to be outdone, a competitor announced plans last week for 25 screens in Orange.

The new cinemas will offer more choices for movie-goers. But they also pose yet another threat to the county’s struggling single-screen theaters, which have been battered nearly to oblivion by the more popular multiplexes.

“The trend is clearly grim,” said Rick Ferncase, an associate professor of film and television at Chapman University. “It’s sort of like preserving land around here. If there’s more money in subdividing, that’s probably what’s going to happen.”

The latest mega-cinemas represent a special challenge because operators usually set aside a few screens for foreign and “art house” films, the domain of the older theaters.

Only a few full-sized theaters, with their elegant box offices and neon marquees, still operate in the county. They include the Bay Theatre in Seal Beach and the Port Theatre in Corona del Mar.

Other cinemas sit vacant, including regal movie palaces such as the Spanish-style Miramar Theatre in San Clemente and the ornate Fox Theatre in Fullerton, with its dramatic mural depicting the history of California.

City officials and movie buffs say they hope the single-screen theaters can survive the latest onslaught. Most older cinemas are in central business districts and over the years have become both civic and cultural landmarks.

“They are reminders of a bygone era,” said Corbin Smith, a Costa Mesa management consultant and loyal patron of old-fashioned cinemas. “For me, sitting in the balcony of a big theater is like going back in time.”

Preservation efforts have produced mixed results. Despite numerous proposals, the Fox and Miramar remain boarded up, a situation that concerns city planners trying to revive the surrounding shopping villages. But a developer unveiled plans last week to reopen the 1930s-era Balboa Theatre in Newport Beach as a revival film house and restaurant.

The Balboa renovation bucks a 20-year trend in the business that has seen the number of multiscreen theaters mushroom and the number of single-screen cinemas decline.

Multiplexes are popular because they offer several film choices and are usually close to shopping and dining. The film variety also benefits exhibitors, who are hurt less than single-screen operators when they book movies that bomb.

Downtown Santa Ana and Fullerton were once home to several large theaters. But as suburban malls enticed shoppers away from the downtowns, some were demolished, including the 2,400-seat Broadway in Santa Ana.

“In the economic climate of the movie business, there is no place for these kinds of theaters,” said Richard Jewell, a USC film professor. “It’s very sad. A lot of these old theaters are masterworks of architecture.”

One of the county’s most impressive-looking cinemas is the Moorish-styled Fox, which looms large over the rows of historic buildings in downtown Fullerton even though movies haven’t been screened there for years.

The 76-year-old theater was once a center of cultural life in the city and even hosted movie premieres that drew Hollywood greats such as Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Mary Pickford.

In the late 1980s, developers embarked on an ambitious revitalization plan aimed at transforming the Fox into a three-screen art cinema.

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Though some renovations have been completed, the reopening plan is now bogged down in litigation between the property owner and a theater chain.

City officials remain hopeful that films will soon return to the Fox. But Gary Chalupsky, Fullerton’s redevelopment director, said the city would be pleased with other retail tenants, such as a microbrewery or a giant bookstore.

“It’s a dark marquee right now, and that’s not a positive thing,” Chalupsky said. “It’s a blank spot that’s not contributing to the street.”

In San Clemente, officials are also seeking creative solutions for the Miramar, such as turning it into a dinner theater, playhouse or shopping galleria.

But finding suitable noncinema uses for the cavernous venues can be difficult. Some have been converted into churches, including Santa Ana’s West Coast and Yost theaters, where silent-screen star Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle performed vaudeville acts.

Newport Beach has emerged as a mecca for full-size theaters, having three within two miles of each other. The owners of the Port have talked about enticing more movie-goers by adding two screens, and city officials hope the proposed Balboa renovation will give the surrounding business district a boost.

“It’s really the focal point of the area,” planner Christy Teague said. Having the Balboa open “will add a sense of community that is so important.”