When you go to the movies... (Chandler, Tempe: home, movie theater, tile)

[Voebe]

When you go out to the movies, where do you go?

I'm curious if everyone ends up at Harkins, which dominates the area.

[WSPHXPELON]

I used to go to the AMC here downtown at Arizona Center. But this summer they shut down the theater due to the AC dying. I'm assuming that it is fixed now, but in the interim I ventured out to the Harkins in Tempe, and well, they have those leather reclining lazy-boy chairs. I don't think I can go back to regular theater seating now, even tho I would prefer to support local downtown business.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

In the past 20 years, I've been to the theater maybe 2-3 times. I watch at home. I have better video and FAR superior audio quality than any typical theater. Including most people's home theater. There are all kinds of technical reasons for this. So it ain't close! I have thousands of movies using one of these https://www.kaleidescape.com/

Though, I do miss getting out of the house. I just cannot stomach the lack of quality.

[KurtAZ]

Harkins. Last time I went to an AMC is was disgusting. Dirty, poor audio quality, bad seats...meh.

[Sno0909]

I recently just started going back to the movies after about a 10 year hiatus. We have a local one down the street called Majestic. Super comfy reclining seats, a server, and booze. It's nice.

[phetaroi]

Since covid, I rarely go to a movie theater. But when I do, I wait until a film has been around long enough that the theater will probably be mostly empty, and then I go to wherever it is still showing. That's what I did when I went to see the recent Indiana Jones film at Harkins Park West 14, which is not that close to Sun City West. Nice theater.

[ElleTea]

Harkins. AMC has terrible popcorn and I hate the self serve drinks that all come out of one dispenser.

I am also in the minority and do NOT like assigned seating and the full recliner/server experience. People get too comfortable like they are at home and talk more, look at their phone, and servers bringing food are distracting. I prefer the regular seats that you pick when you get to the theater and allow you to move if you want to once you get there.

[asufan]

Harkins pretty much has a monopoly on the Chandler area as far as big chain theaters go. I'd have to drive to Ahwatukee to go to an AMC. closest theater to me is Majestic on Chandler Heights,which I went to when it was an Alamo Drafthouse and it was fine. There's a new LOOK dine-in theater in DT Chandler that I haven't been to yet. No preference really, as long as it's clean.

[exit2lef]

It's a difficult choice.

Harkins is the better theater experience, but they've focused almost exclusively on suburban locations, chasing the stucco and red tile to the outermost reaches while leaving the core of the metro area to their main competitor, AMC. They still haven't reopened Valley Art on Mill Avenue after COVID. For a locally based company to be so indifferent to its own history and the continuing revitalization of our urban centers is unfortunate.

AMC doesn't have the same quality of experience, but they have central, urban locations like the Arizona Center and Centerpoint in Tempe. The latter was originally a Harkins that was abandoned in favor of Tempe Marketplace. In my ideal world, Harkins would take over both theaters and upgrade them.

[My2cents55]

Harkins all the way. Since Covid though and maybe this was before Covid going to the movies is a pain you got the assigned seating which I do not like and everything is so expensive, especially getting something from the concession stand.

Back in the day 20 or more years ago, I'd go every week to the movies heck saw Titanic like 20 times lol now maybe once or twice a year if that and it has to be a really good movie like Mission Impossible, James Bond, Transformers, avatar etc for me to wanna go.