Sunday night, Hollywood celebrated the movies.

But back in January, the State College area celebrated the movies in a different way, with the opening of a 12-screen cineplex.

Premiere Theaters, 125 Premiere Drive, moved into a town that had seen a monopoly of sorts on movies for nearly 10 years.

"We felt like there was a demand for a theater in town," Mike Ross, president and CEO of the company that runs Premiere, said. "We felt it needed a modern facility with stadium seating and modern technology. Most towns that size nationally have a 12- or 14-screen theater."

The theater is owned and operated by United Entertainment Corp., which is based in St. Cloud, Minn., and owns theaters in "a lot of states," Ross said, without specifying exact figures. The theater spaces at Premiere range in size, seating from 94 to 282 people, and there is space to add two additional screens at a later time.

In the years before Premiere, the other 11 screens in town were found at Cinema 5, 116 Heister St., and Cinema 6, 501 Benner Pike. Both theaters are owned and operated by Carmike Cinemas, based in Columbus, Ga.

Carmike owns 299 theaters with 2,253 screens in 35 states, corporate spokeswoman Suzanne Brown said. The company began operating the local theaters in May 1994.

But three years ago, Carmike operated three more screens in downtown State College. In March 2001, Carmike closed the single-screen theater, The Movies, on the corner of Garner Street and Beaver Avenue, and the two-screen State Twin, 128 W. College Ave.

"We closed those theaters while we were operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and we closed them for economic reasons," Brown said.

Carmike filed for Chapter 11 in August 2000 and emerged from protection on Jan. 31, 2002. Since the chain came out of Chapter 11, Brown said it has not had any financial problems.

The need for more screens

So how exactly does a town that lost three movie screens just three years ago merit the placement of 12 new screens?

"I think it can be economically feasible for several reasons," film studies professor Kevin Hagopian said.

The first reason, he said, is the opportunity to reach 18- to 22-year-olds.

"It's a very desirable market," Hagopian said. "It's a good market for product placement before the film and for the product placement in the film. They certainly chose this location based on the student market."

Premiere owner Ross also pointed to the university as a reason for building the theater, explaining that most college towns have a theater the size of his.

The second reason the new theater can be feasible is Carmike's recent financial troubles, Hagopian said. A theater with more money has the opportunity to offer better amenities.

"I think Premiere is a really good combination of some of the best qualities we associate with movie theaters," Hagopian said, citing a grand lobby, courteous employees, small theaters designed to be small theaters, and "less wear and tear" in a newer building.

Meanwhile, Hagopian has a different view of the Carmike theaters.

"In my opinion, I think the conditions there are substandard for a good movie experience," he said.

And people attending movies this weekend seemed to agree.

"I think the new theater is much, much better than this one," Eduardo Aguirre (senior-management and international business) said while standing outside Cinema 6 on Benner Pike. "This theater is the worst one I've ever seen in my life, and I am from a third world country."

Aguirre, who grew up in Honduras, also said that at Cinema 5, he sometimes has trouble hearing because of sound from the neighboring bar, The Gingerbread Man.

"[Premiere] is better than the other theaters," Norbert Ndamira (junior-division of undergraduate studies) said. "There's more comfortable seats. It seems like the sound quality is definitely better."

State College resident Susan DelPonte agrees with this assessment of the theaters.

"It's wonderful," she said. "It's just what this town needs, and I hope it tells Carmike that their theaters aren't that nice anymore."

Deb Wilson of State College said it's the stadium seating that makes Premiere better for her.

"I'm looking forward to the seating," she said. "I'm tired of going to see a movie and not being able to see because the person in front of me is tall. It's like you might as well just wait for the DVD."

Not everyone, though, complained about Carmike's amenities.

"I don't think we need to be spoiled when we go to movie theaters," Ben Hillbery (junior-psychology and economics) said.

Tom Wirth (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) cited cost as a reason for Cinema 5's condition.

"This theater's kind of dirty, but it's only $5, so you can't complain," he said, quoting a discount rate for students. Premiere also offers discounted student tickets for $5.

But even with what moviegoers would classify as nicer amenities, Premiere cannot match Cinema 5 in its proximity to campus.

"When you don't have a car on campus, this is really the only one you can go to," Megan Moore (freshman-kinesiology) said.

Ndamira said he also sees Premiere's location as a problem.

"The location definitely hurts it," he said. "It's a little bit farther than I like to drive, but for a better experience, it's worth it."

For non-students, though, the outside-of-town location can actually be a plus.

"It's nicer here," Wilson said. "There's lots of parking. Who wants to go downtown and pay to park?"

Steve Krezo, manager of Premiere, said he sees his theater's location as an advantage as well.

"It's easy to get to, and there's a lot of parking," he said. "Parking is definitely at a premium downtown. So it makes sense."

Book it

A third reason Hagopian thinks that a new theater can be successful in State College is that with 12 screens, Premiere might have the opportunity to offer a better selection than the competition.

"With 12 screens in one place, it's possible Premiere will be able to offer movies the State College area has only been able to see at the Garman theater," he said. "It's only a possibility though."

The Garman Opera House, 116 High St., Bellefonte, is an independently owned and operated theater that specializes in art, foreign and independent films.

In the weeks since Premiere has opened, less-mainstream movies such as Lost in Translation, 21 Grams, The Cooler and The Triplets of Belleville have graced its screens.

The reason for the indie movies, Krezo said, is that Hollywood makes fewer films in the winter months.

"That was all that was available in the market," he said. "But it worked out fine."

In the upcoming months, though, Ross said his theater will still seek out variety.

"We're going to have some independent films, but we're going to have mostly the newer stuff," he said. "We're going to try to have a mix."

When it comes to booking films, Premiere and the Garman use booking agencies located outside of the area, while Carmike uses an in-house booker in Georgia.

The movie theaters in the same market bid against each other for a film, Hagopian said.

For the past several years, Carmike had not been bidding, just choosing which films it wanted to show, he added.

When choosing which films to book, Brown said Carmike is somewhat limited by how many prints there are of a certain film.

"We look at historically what's played well in the market and try to continue booking films that fit well in those markets," she said.

"We try to give as much variety as we can, but with a big blockbuster film, there are a lot more prints."

Brown said that even if Carmike wants to book a smaller film, it is not always able to because preference is given to larger markets, such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, and Carmike operates only in small to medium markets with fewer than 100,000 people.

"Sometimes a movie can be out two to three weeks before we can receive a print," she said.

Garman owner and manager Kathryn Iadarola said she books films mainly because of contract lengths with commercial films.

Because her establishment has only one screen and 350 seats, Iadarola said she cannot take the risk to book a commercial film for several weeks.

"When I found out what the contract lengths were for a commercial film, I went towards art, foreign and independent movies," she said. "I can book a foreign film for a lot less time than a commercial film."

Iadarola also books blockbuster films like the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter on occasion.

"I do go for a blockbuster if it's not hard to read," she said.

The problem for the Garman with booking a blockbuster is that if the movie is brand new, the distributor will not allow it to be double booked, which means that no other film may be shown on the same screen.

This severely limits the single-screen theater, especially when the contract length for a blockbuster movie is four to five weeks.

Another issue that comes into play when deciding which movie to book is whether the viewers will buy concessions.

"It's traditional that theaters send nearly all of their box office [receipts] to their distributors," Hagopian said.

Theaters first deduct a fixed cost for heat, lights and other expenses, he added.

"I am solely dependent on concessions," Iadarola said.

Sometimes, depending on the movie, the theater owner sends more or less of the box office to the distributor.

"Deciding what film to bid for is based on what kind of film it is, location of the theater, size of the theater and how much of the gross proceeds they're willing to remit to the distributors," Hagopian said.

One problem Iadarola has had is that when she books a smaller film at her theater, it might not sell as many concessions.

"Usually the kind of crowds that go to art, foreign and independent films are not candy eaters," she said.

Hagopian has seen the same thing happen.

"They're not there to eat popcorn," he said. "They're there to watch a movie, which is a really perverse and sad outcome. They're not there as much for a social evening as a movie evening."

One way the Garman has made up for the lack of concession sales is through a restaurant, La Bella Trattoria, in the downstairs of the theater. Iadarola partners with her son and daughter in the business. She runs the theater, while her son is the restaurant's chef and her daughter handles the front of the house, including hiring and booking banquets and dinners.

"If the movie's more commercial, then the restaurant doesn't do as well. But if it's an art film, then the restaurant does better," Iadarola said. "I think I'm doing as well as can be expected with a single screen. I can't say I'm competing. I'm just trying to do my own thing."

One way that the Garman does its own thing is by sending e-mail messages to moviegoers to ask what they want to see, Hagopian said.

"Any operation that is that concerned with the audience is always going to have an advantage over an operation where decisions are made in a distant location," he said.

For local moviegoers, the type of movies shown in State College by Carmike and Premiere is not always satisfactory.

"I enjoy places where you can see different films, not just the mainstream ones," said Denny Seaman (junior-crime, law and justice), citing the Palmer Museum, the Garman and the Human Rights Film Series shown in the community room of the Municipal Building, 243 S. Allen St., as places he likes to go.

"I'd like a bigger selection," he added. "I get bored of the same movies."

For Aguirre, the movie playing is more important than the location.

"I go wherever the movie I'm interested in is playing," he said. "I'm glad we have [Premiere], because we need the variety."