The Muvico 20-screen theater complex in Ybor City, downtown Tampa, Florida
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Private company | |
Fate | Converted to other brands |
Founded |
1984 in [[Coral Springs, Florida]] |
Defunct | 2017 |
Headquarters | Fort Lauderdale, Florida |
1984 in [[Coral Springs,
Muvico Theatres was a movie theater chain headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Muvico had seven complexes in Florida, one in the Chicago Metropolitan Area (Rosemont), and one in Thousand Oaks, California. Muvico's theaters were known for the use of decorative themes at several theaters, such as the Egyptian, 1950s drive-in, French opera house, Mediterranean palace and 1920s grand movie palace themes.
Muvico Theatres started in 1984 with the acquisition of the Movie Center 3 theater in Coral Springs, Florida. Between 1985 and 1995, Muvico bought or built eight theaters totaling 59 screens; the California Club Six in North Miami was among these eight theaters. However, in 1995, Muvico sold all of its theaters and three leases, except for the Palm Harbor 10 located in Palm Harbor, Florida. The purpose of that sale was to allow Muvico to operate more efficiently against its competition – namely, Regal Entertainment Group, Cinemark, and AMC Theatres. A year later, Muvico bought five theaters from United Artist Theaters (now owned by Regal Entertainment Group) in South and Central Florida, totaling 43 screens. Muvico built its first themed megaplex theater in 1998 in Orlando; it is called Muvico Pointe 21 with a "book of dreams" theme. They subsequently opened an 18-screen theater in Pompano Beach, Florida with a 50's drive in theme, and a 24-screen megaplex in Davie, Florida with the Egyptian theme. In 2000, Muvico opened four more megaplexes in Florida and one in Arundel Mills in Hanover, Maryland, totaling 104 screens. In 2001, Muvico opened the Peabody Place 22 in Memphis, Tennessee with a train station theme. Muvico sold Pointe Orlando 21 to Regal Cinemas and opened new theaters in Coconut Pointe, FL and in Boynton Beach, FL. In 2007, the Baywalk 20 theater in St. Petersburg opened an IMAX theater specifically for the launch of Spider-Man 3, with an IMAX theater also added to the Parisian 20 location in West Palm Beach, FL.