Carmike Cinemas Announces the Grand Opening of the Carmike Boulevard 10 in Destin, Florida, Including the Critically Acclaimed Signature "BIGD" Ultimate Entertainment Experience and the Ovation Dining Club
- Boulevard 10 brings the Theatre-Going Entertainment Experience to a Dramatic New Level on March 28 -
COLUMBUS, Georgia and DESTIN, Florida - March 19, 2013 - Carmike Cinemas, Inc. (NASDAQ: CKEC), a leading DIGITAL cinema and 3-D motion picture exhibitor, announced today that it will unveil its newest entertainment complex at Grand Boulevard located at the entrance of the 2,400-acre Sandestin(r) Golf and Beach Resort, just east of Destin, between Panama City and Pensacola, Florida. Opening night will be Thursday, March 28, 2013 at Midnight. The new Carmike theatre, named the Boulevard 10, will feature ten screens with total seating for 1,800 and will be highlighted by a state-of-the-art "BIGD" auditorium and Ovation Dining Club, Carmike's premium theatre environments. The grand opening of the Boulevard 10 will feature a selection of Hollywood's latest movies, including the special debut Midnight presentation of "G.I. Joe: Retaliation."
Carmike Cinemas President and Chief Executive Officer David Passman stated, "Carmike continues actively expanding our growing circuit, on our way to 300 theatres and 3,000 screens through selective acquisitions and the addition of multiple new-build theatres in promising locations like Sandestin, across 'Hometown America. The "BIGD" and Ovation Dining Club will both be Carmike's first flagship venues of this type in Florida. Recent Carmike Florida expansion took place along the Space Coast in Melbourne and Port St. Lucie and along the Emerald Coast in Pensacola with the acquisition of four theatres from Rave Motion Pictures. Carmike has had a significant presence in Panama City and Pensacola for many years.
"We're providing the ultimate entertainment experience that features large format DIGITAL with bigger screens, bigger and better sound, and the finest in-theatre seating for cutting-edge presentation and the definitive enjoyment of our audiences. Furthermore, with the opening of our newest location, the Sandestin area joins a select and growing list of communities across the nation offering Carmike theatregoers the exciting "BIGD" format. The Sandestin Ovation Dining Club is only our second in the country and has been raved about in Chattanooga, TN, site of our first location. Many of our guests tell us that with limited time for leisure in their busy lives, they enjoy the option of combining a tasty dinner and refreshments, with a leading Hollywood movie."
The entertainment complex is equipped with auditoriums featuring state-of-the-art stadium style seating, with comfortable high back luxury chairs, retractable armrests and convenient cup holders. The Carmike Boulevard 10 also contains large, wall-to-wall screens, as well as DLP DIGITAL projection and DIGITAL sound. The new theatre has an upscale lobby, multiple concession areas featuring Coca-Cola Freestyle drink centers and an indoor box office, so filmgoers can escape the elements.
The "BIGD" auditorium includes a wall-to-wall screen measuring 60 feet wide and nearly three stories tall, the latest in surround sound and DIGITAL projection of both 2-D and 3-D features. In technical terms, Carmike's "BIGD" DIGITAL experience is powered by a Christie Brilliant 3-D flash projector. The end result is a light output of 30,000 lumens, creating a picture quality with noticeably higher resolution than HD.
To further enhance the experience, the custom QSC DIGITAL audio system is tuned to a 7.1 speaker array with 16 channels and the ability to upgrade to 11.1, a revolution in surround sound technology with DIGITAL audio processing supported by quad-amplified, 4-way speakers and 21-inch subwoofers. The new, expanded configuration at the Boulevard 10 promises a new gold standard in unparalleled picture clarity and deep resonating DIGITAL sound.
"We are very pleased with the tremendous, positive response we have received from moviegoers about their enhanced enjoyment while seeing films in our "BIGD" ultimate movie-going experience and have plans to open more entertainment complexes featuring "BIGD" auditoriums in 2013. Carmike Cinemas entertainment complexes currently under construction include Champaign, IL, Winchester, VA, Hickory, NC and Colorado Springs, CO. We also have plans underway for new locations in Opelika, AL, Oak Grove, KY, Montgomery, AL and Snellville, GA. Whether it is a movie, concert, sporting event, motivational speaker or church service, Carmike guests will find "BIGD" placing them at the heart of the event," notes Terrell Mayton, Carmike's Director of Marketing.