Warren Theatres is a movie theater chain based in Wichita,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

, United States. While the company was founded by Bill Warren, he sold ownership of most of the Warren Theatres locations to

Regal Entertainment Group Regal Cinemas (also Regal Entertainment Group) is an American movie theater chain headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee. A division of Cineworld, Regal operates the second-largest theater circuit in the United States, with over 7,200 screens i ...

in 2017. The sale excluded two theaters that were in development and the Palace Theatre in Springfield, Missouri.

Overview

As of December 2010, the Warren Theatres owned and operated eight theatre complexes in three states. Warren Theatres operated five theatres named the Warren Theatres, with three in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...

, one in

Moore, Oklahoma Moore is a city in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, United States, and is part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The population was 62,793 at the 2020 census, making Moore the seventh-largest city in the state of Oklahoma. Located between Okla ...

, and one in

Broken Arrow, Oklahoma Broken Arrow is a city located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, primarily in Tulsa County, with a portion in western Wagoner County. It is the largest suburb of Tulsa. According to the 2010 census, Broken Arrow has a popu ...

. Warren Theatres also operated one theatre, named the Palace Theatre, a second-run location; as well as a five-screen multiplex called the Movie Machine that was located in

Towne West Square Towne West Square is an enclosed shopping mall located in Wichita, Kansas, United States. Opened on Friday, March 6, 1981, it comprises more than 50 stores in of gross leasable area. The mall's three anchor stores are Dick's Sporting Goods, Dilla ...

mall. Warren Theatres' IMAX was at one point the top grossing IMAX in North America. The Warren Theatres location in Old Town Wichita was a main venue for the

Tallgrass Film Festival The Tallgrass Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Wichita, Kansas, specializing in independent films. It was founded in 2003 by Timothy Gruver. Gruver was raised in Wichita. He studied filmmaking at Brigham Young University. After c ...

, an international, independent film festival. In April 2018, Regal announced the closure of the Palace West location in Wichita. The final day of screenings occurred on April 8. The Movie Machine was closed in November 2020. In July 2021, Regal would reach agreement with property owner Arvest Bank to reopen the Midwest City location that Warren had closed in March 2020 due to COVID-19.

Midwest City, Oklahoma

In February 2017, Bill Warren announced the return of the Warren Theatres name to a new 14-screen cineplex in

Midwest City, Oklahoma Midwest City is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 54,371, making it the eighth largest city in the state. The city was developed in r ...

. Originally slated for July 25, 2019, the theatre opened August 23 of that year. The theatre closed in March 2020 due to COVID-19 and on September 5, 2020, the property was foreclosed. The theatre was offered at a sheriff's auction sale in January 2021. Property owner Arvest Bank contracted with Regal Entertainment to reopen the location which it did in July 2021.

Locations

''(all theatres except Midwest City owned by Regal)''

Features

Some of the screens at the West 21st street and East 13th street locations featured

digital 3D Digital 3D is a non-specific 3D standard in which films, television shows, and video games are presented and shot in digital 3D technology or later processed in digital post-production to add a 3D effect. One of the first studios to use digital 3 ...

projection, while the rest featured digital projections. Each auditorium of the Moore Warren was equipped with Dolby Digital Cinema,

Dolby 3D Dolby 3D (formerly known as Dolby 3D Digital Cinema) is a marketing name for a system from Dolby Laboratories, Inc. to show three-dimensional motion pictures in a digital cinema. Technology Dolby 3D uses a Dolby Digital Cinema projector that ...

, Dolby 7.1, and THX certified audio systems. Modeled after the classic

art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

theaters in the 1950s, theatres included marble floors and counter-tops, neon lights, and hand-painted murals. Some locations featured VIP balcony reserved seating, with food delivery from a private bar just outside the auditorium. Warren Theatres received national acclaim when ''

Flaunt Magazine ''Flaunt'' is an American fashion and culture magazine based in Hollywood, Los Angeles, with an office in New York. History The magazine was founded in 1998 by the current C.E.O. Luis Barajas, and Creative Director Jim Turner, who had previousl ...

'' named the chain the top theater builder in the nation.

Digital IMAX

The Warren's IMAX first opened in Wichita on December 17, 2010. The Moore Warren IMAX opened February 24, 2012. Both theaters have 601 seats, a dedicated lobby, 82 ft IMAX 3D screen, a family restroom, and an elevator. The Warren IMAX at the time it opened, was the largest IMAX screen in the world.

References

External links

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''Bill Warren’s IMAX theater a world-class success''
The Wichita-Eagle; December 25, 2012 {{Major USA Cinema Chains Movie theatre chains in the United States IMAX venues