sunrise cinemas to close
tampafilmfan permalink | categories: channelside, development, film, news, soho, tampaby tampafilmfan @ 3:41 pm
I’m in shock. Sunrise Cinemas is closing their location in Old Hyde Park Village on August 31. Here’s the letter that was sent via email this morning:
August 18, 2006
Dear Tampa Bay Area movie lovers, Sunrise Cinemas at Old Hyde Park Village will present its last movie on August 31, 2006. As our two-year contract is concluded, we look back upon what has been an extremely successful run.
· Ticket revenue over the past four quarters was up 26%, which is the most improved performance of any movie theatre in the Tampa Bay market.
· Ticket revenue year-to-date is up 17%, which is also the most improved performance of any movie theatre in the Tampa Bay market.We were at or near the top ticket sale performers for “indie” titles ranging from FAHRENHEIT 911, SIDEWAYS, GARDEN STATE, MAD HOT BALLROOM, THREE BURIALS, FRIENDS WITH MONEY, MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS, MATCH POINT, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, JUNEBUG, THE WHITE COUNTESS, DE-LOVELY, MILLIONS, GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK, CAPOTE, THANK YOU FOR SMOKING, TRANSAMERICA, A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION and AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH.
Our success was due entirely to the enthusiasm and gracious support of the movie loving public in the Tampa Bay community. Your patronage proved that independent cinema is viable in Tampa. On behalf of the management and staff at Sunrise Cinemas, our sincere thank you.
Sincerely yours,
Mitchel Dreier
President
Sunrise Cinemas
Back in April, I asked David Wasserman of Wasserman Vornado (the new owners of Old Hyde Park Village) to reconsider putting condos up in that location. His rude response: No such luck.
No word from Sunrise yet if they will look for a different location in Tampa. The theater employees got the news at 11 a.m. this morning, but I haven’t spoken to any of them yet to see how they’re taking it.
It looks like Channelside Cinemas is the new “go to” place for local film festivals. According to an email I received, Channelside is the new home of the Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (along with the Tampa Theatre) in October, the Jewish Film Festival in March, and something called the Gasparilla Film Festival (which I’ve never heard of before) in February. Thank goodness for Channelside and the Tampa Theatre; if Tampa didn’t have these two places I’d have to move.
Condos — 1; local film lovers — zero. Sigh.
(cross-posted at Tampa Film Fan)
Tags: channelside, development, film, news, soho, tampa
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August 18th, 2006 at 4:26 pm
Just what we need — more overpriced condos. That was a great place to go see a movie; I hate to see it go.
August 18th, 2006 at 4:35 pm
Unfortunately, it seemed to be only a matter of time before Sunrise was history with these new owners taking over. I was hopeful with the condo market cooling off they’d realize throwing up condos there is a mistake.
I don’t know the track record of the developer, but how they think getting rid of the movie theatre is going to help drive more foot traffic to the struggling retail stores and make the center into more of a destination is beyond me.
Very sorry to see Sunrise go (even though the people behind the counter at the concession stand always seemed to be in slow motion
- our favorite place to catch a flick. I hope they re-open somewhere. Just checked their website and looks like they’re alot bigger down south:
http://www.sunrisecinemas.com/index.php?selection=info
matt
matt
August 18th, 2006 at 4:51 pm
I thought it was already annouced that this place was closing? It might be a tough sell getting condos since it would, I think, require rezoning as well as a lender willing to bet that it is worth the money to demo the site and then build.
August 18th, 2006 at 5:40 pm
When the new owners of Hyde Park Village took over, they announced that they want to put condos up in that location. None of the news coverage mentioned when the various leases were up and Sunrise didn’t comment. I was hoping to delay the inevitable and that Sunrise’s lease extended through next year sometime. I’m also hoping that Sunrise finds another location locally, but I’m not getting my hopes up.
The new owners want to build a small (200 seat) theater somewhere in the Village and have talked to the Tampa Theatre about managing it, but I don’t know where that stands. We’ll see, I guess.
August 18th, 2006 at 8:45 pm
Sob. Tampa is really losing points in my book. I have so many great memories from Sunrise. I loved going to the festivals there (TIFF and TGLFF), my boyfriend and I went on our first date there, etc etc. The Tampa Theatre is great too, but obviously they can’t show the wide range of films Sunrise could. I’ve never been to the Channelside cinemas, so I hope they can live up my expectations.
August 19th, 2006 at 12:37 am
that’s awful, Sunrise is definitely a bright spot in Tampa.
August 19th, 2006 at 9:33 am
Who can afford all these condos? Where is all this money coming from? What are these apparently great-paying jobs everyone is doing to afford living in comparative luxury, and how can I get one?
August 19th, 2006 at 4:34 pm
Funny how we get no say in who gets to build our town. It should be like running for office: actually having residence/vested interest in the place you want to decimate. Er, develop.
August 19th, 2006 at 7:08 pm
Dawn, your silence is deafening.
Last week Mayor Iorio held her third of only four town meetings calling for public input on any issue they wanted. NO ONE spoke about Sunrise or on the trolley serving Hyde Park and SOHO with an absurd schedule. NO ONE spoke about the planned two story Publix planned for South Armenia.. NO ONE spoke about the upcoming plan by Council Member Dingfelder to eliminate over 100 parking spaces in SOHO by not allowing parking on both sides of the street on Westland, Azeele and other streets. You can see and hear the entire town meeting at http://www.tampagold.com to see what was discussed.
Everyone has the opportunity to be heard, they just decide they are just too busy to bother. All that it takes for evil to triumph is for enough good men (and women) to do nothing.
August 20th, 2006 at 11:37 pm
Perhaps there is still something we can do, if those interested in save this vital film house come together. I put up a quick wiki page on a civics web site I administer to help coordinate an effort to save Sunrise Cinemas Old Hyde Park. Of course it will be difficult, but I’m happy to at least give it a try.
What follows will redirect to that page:
http://savethesunrise.com
Please pass it on and let’s keep this conversation going.
August 27th, 2006 at 2:45 pm
I am all in favor of trying to save Sunrise Cinemas. If this theatre is taken away, I won’t be giving any business to any of the shops or restaurants. I also dislike going to a mall for a movie.
August 28th, 2006 at 5:35 pm
Does anyone know the status of the zoning situation? Is the condo project zoned by right and subject only to design review by the ARC or is it a conditional use? Not knowing exactly what the zoning situation is and where the project is in the approval process (but assuming at minimum, there are discretionary public hearings for design review), I would suggest someone post the next hearing date and we all attend in force. If the hearing is open to public discussion, a large turn-out with much public banter and dissention is required. If enough people show up and voice their displeasure it might make a difference. Public servants should be mouthpieces of their constituents and we shouldn’t take no for an answer.
August 31st, 2006 at 8:17 am
Greed by the owners of the Village has caused its demise. Sunrise should not consider staying in the Village. They should take their business somewhere it is appreciated. The Wine Exchange should take their money and wonderful food somewhere else too. Look at Cappys, they moved and all their customers followed. Leave the new owners with tons of condos they can’t sell!!
September 1st, 2006 at 11:37 am
Talk about throwing the baby out with the bathwater!Being able to walk to a quality movie theater has been one of the greatest things about living in the Village.Surely a theater has a symbiotic relationship with the restaurants and shops around it;why else would successful malls include theaters in their mix?
Why could’t the condos be built above the theater space?It’s done in New York all the time.
Being able to leave my car at home, walk down to see a great film, then walk home in the moonlight thinking about what I just saw,has been something I treasure.
Losing an important cultural venue like the Sunrise makes it even easier for me to contemplate moving out of Tampa.
September 3rd, 2006 at 5:17 pm
Par for the course for the cultural average in this state. I give up, I’m moving to Seattle.
February 26th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
As a film buff I can tell you’re not alone here. Just 18 months ago a feud broke out between Village Enttertainment and CBL Associates who owned the only mall cinema in town closed the Pemberton 4 Cinema becouse the tenant refused to pay the high rent. What made the closing insensitive CBL Associates closed the cinema near christmas time. When the news broke in the local paper it shocked and angered the community as a whole.
Local leaders are now scrambling to find a new cinema but so far they haven’t scored a hit in bring in a cimea operator. Since the cinema closed here most if not all the locals are force to go Jackson. But the upswing is the the cinemas are better and classy.
One item of interest: Regel Entertainment Group formally owned the old cinema. Now why didn’t they build a box cinema? But old cinema fell victim to broken chairs,broken projectors and crime too.