Move over, movie popcorn:
Charcuterie plates and cocktails join the menu at Cinepolis, a new 10-screen luxury movie theater south of Winter Garden.
WINTER GARDEN — Charcuterie plates and cocktails are joining tubs of popcorn and licorice at the opening of Central Florida’s new “luxury” movie theater, called Cinepolis, south of Winter Garden.
Dallas-based Cinepolis USA is opening the 10-screen high-end movie theater Friday at the Hamlin development as the summer movie season winds down, but owners are hoping to draw buzz with a full kitchen, a cocktail bar and wide seats. It’s located at 14111 Shoreside Way.
The 10-screen cinema will have full-service, in-theater dining with a menu featuring dishes such as lobster rolls and crepes along with sliders and pulled pork bowls. The building itself is designed differently from past generations of theaters. There is no outside box office, the lobby is smaller and one side is devoted to a bar lined with spirits where bartenders can make custom cocktails.
The concessions stand is diminutive as well. Popcorn comes in four flavors, including “zebra” slathered in chocolate and “Cheetos” popcorn dusted in the powder from the popular snack food.
It’s not the first in-theater dining experience in Central Florida as it joins the AMC at Disney Springs and the boutique Enzian Theater in Maitland. But owners hope fresh food and fancy drinks can help win customers that have been deserting theaters.
“People love going to the theaters, but what we see is that the offering at most theaters isn’t keeping up to expectations,” said Luis Olloqui, CEO of Cinepolis USA.
It’s the eighth luxury theater for the company, which also has a conventional theater in Davenport.
Cinepolis joins a growing number of theaters in Central Florida competing for entertainment dollars against increasingly appealing home offerings. As streaming options increase and high-end televisions drop in price, movie theaters are looking for ways to lure customers with a one-stop shop for food, entertainment and comfortable chairs.
Movie theater tickets sold in 2017 fell to about 1.239 billion, down 21 percent since 2002, according to industry tracking site Box Office Mojo.
Cinepolis joins theaters adding leather recliner seats and assigned spots for shows to win back customers, usually demanding a premium of $2 to $3 per ticket over other theaters. Cinepolis strategic operations manager David Alvarado said its seats are the largest in the industry.
“We really expect people to do most of the ordering from their seats, but we know people still want the concessions stand for popcorn and candy,” Alvarado said.
Tickets are more expensive at Cinepolis than some conventional theaters. For adults, tickets start at $10.59 for the first show of the day and peak at $17.69 for shows between 4 and 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday. The individual theaters hold at most about 160 seats, twothirds of what most theaters hold.
Designing food for a theater isn’t as easy as putting a restaurant inside, said corporate executive chef Mirella Valazquez. She said they looked for a variety of foods from flatbreads to burgers to appeal to a big audience.
A “cinebox” with a slider, two slices of pepperoni, veggies and a brownie bite costs $17.95 and a Texas onion ring burger is $14.95.
“And you have to eat everything with your hands or without much of a mess,” Velazquez said. “You can’t always see as well when its dark and you’re looking at a screen.”