IMAX screen to open Oct. 31 at Fairfield, CA Edwards Theater

IMAX screen to open Oct. 31 at Fairfield theater
By Ben Antonius | Daily Republic | October 23, 2008 17:43
FAIRFIELD - Less than a month after it was announced, IMAX and Regal Entertainment Group will debut their new theater in Fairfield on Halloween.

An IMAX screen, the first in Solano County, will open at Edwards Theaters Oct. 31, debuting with a screening of 'Eagle Eye: The IMAX Experience.' Edwards Theaters is a 16-screen complex located in Westfield Solano mall in Fairfield.

Regal announced plans on Oct. 3 to convert one screen each at Edwards and 11 other theaters to the IMAX format. It involves a much larger screen, an amped-up sound system and a digital projector, marketing manager Robbie Arrington said.

'It is bigger, louder, more in-your-face and its more of an experience,' Arrington said via telephone from Regal's headquarters in Tennessee.

The project is part of a joint venture between Regal and IMAX, which will increase Regal's total number of IMAX theaters to 52 nationwide by the end of 2010. The project also involves converting screens at theaters in Stockton and in El Dorado Hills outside Sacramento.

The decision to bring IMAX equipment to Fairfield stemmed from the success of Edwards Theaters and the location between Sacramento and San Francisco, which are the next-nearest places with IMAX screens, company officials said previously.

Arrington declined to discuss specific attendance figures for IMAX screens versus traditional ones that use 35 millimeter film, but he said they are typically popular with moviegoers.

'It is a significant increase in attendance for our IMAX locations than our 35 millimeters,' he said. 'They like it, they wish every film was on it.'

Reach Ben Antonius at 427-6977 or bantonius@dailyrepublic.net.