The following is a reference / historical listing of the 70-millimeter
engagements of “A Chorus Line” in the United States and Canada. These were
the cinemas worth seeking out to experience this motion picture.
“A Chorus Line” was among twenty-three confirmed first-run films released in
1985 with 70mm prints for selected engagements. The Embassy/PolyGram
presentation and Columbia release was directed by Richard Attenborough (“A
Bridge Too Far,” ”Gandhi”) and starred Michael Douglas.
The world premiere of “A Chorus Line” was held December 9th at Radio City
Music Hall in New York. The west coast premiere was held December 11th at
Century Plaza in Los Angeles.
For the release of “A Chorus Line,” Columbia employed the services of
Lucasfilm’s Theatre Alignment Program (TAP) to evaluate and approve the
cinemas selected to book a 70mm print.
The 70mm prints of “A Chorus Line” featured Six-Track Dolby Stereo (“A”
encoded “baby boom” format) and full-frame imagery blown up from Super-35.
Columbia circulated 70mm Six-Track Dolby coming-attraction trailers for
“Crossroads,” “Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling,” “The Karate Kid Part II”
“Murphy’s Romance,” “Quicksilver” and “Violets are Blue” during the release
of “A Chorus Line.” Other studios circulated 70mm trailers during this
period, as well. Ultimately, any 70mm trailers screened during 70mm
presentations of “A Chorus Line” varied by venue and screening.
Premiere/Opening date YYYY-MM-DD … City — Cinema (duration in weeks) [notes]
1985-12-09 … New York, NY — Radio City Music Hall [world premiere]
1985-12-10 … Commack, NY — Redstone’s Commack 10 (7)
1985-12-10 … Levittown, NY — Loews’ Nassau Mall 6 (7)
1985-12-10 … Medford, NY — Redstone’s Brookhaven 12 [THX]
1985-12-10 … New York, NY — Loews’ 34th Street Showplace Triplex (7)
1985-12-10 … New York, NY — Loews’ New York Twin (5)
1985-12-10 … New York, NY — Loews’ Paramount (7)
1985-12-10 … Paramus, NJ — RKO Century’s Route 17 Triplex (8)
1985-12-10 … Sayreville, NJ — Redstone’s Amboy 12 (7)
1985-12-10 … Secaucus, NJ — Loews’ Meadow 6 (7)
1985-12-10 … Valley Stream, NY — Redstone’s Sunrise 11 (7)
1985-12-10 … Wayne, NJ — Loews’ Wayne 6 (7)
1985-12-11 … Los Angeles, CA — Cineplex Odeon’s Century Plaza Twin (12)
[HPS-4000]
1985-12-11 … Toronto, ON — Cineplex Odeon’s York Twin (8)
1985-12-12 … Costa Mesa, CA — Edwards’ Town Center 4 (8)
1985-12-12 … Los Angeles, CA — Pacific’s Paramount (5)
1985-12-12 … Orange, CA — Syufy’s Cinedome 6 (5)
1985-12-20 … Atlanta, GA — Columbia (5)
1985-12-20 … Atlanta, GA — Loews’ Tara 4 (6)
1985-12-20 … Boston, MA — Sack’s Charles Triplex (6)
1985-12-20 … Calgary, AB — Cineplex Odeon’s North Hill (7)
1985-12-20 … Calgary, AB — Cineplex Odeon’s Showcase Grand Twin (6)
1985-12-20 … Chicago, IL — M&R’s Fine Arts 4 (4)
1985-12-20 … Edmonton, AB — Cineplex Odeon’s Westmount 4 (10) [THX]
1985-12-20 … La Mesa, CA — Pacific’s Cinema Grossmont (7)
1985-12-20 … Miami, FL — Wometco’s Dadeland Triplex (9)
1985-12-20 … Montreal, QC — Cineplex Odeon’s Place du Canada (6)
1985-12-20 … North Miami Beach, FL — Wometco’s 163rd Street Triplex (10)
1985-12-20 … Ottawa, ON — Cineplex Odeon’s Rideau Centre Triplex (7)
1985-12-20 … Overland Park, KS — AMC’s Oak Park Plaza 6 (10)
1985-12-20 … Philadelphia, PA — Budco’s Olde City Twin (6)
1985-12-20 … San Francisco, CA — UA’s Metro (9)
1985-12-20 … San Jose, CA — Syufy’s Century 22 Triplex (1+)
1985-12-20 … Seattle, WA — SRO’s Cinerama (1+)
1985-12-20 … Southfield, MI — NGT’s Americana 8 (4)
1985-12-20 … Vancouver, BC — Cineplex Odeon’s Oakridge Centre Triplex (10)
[THX]
1985-12-20 … Washington, DC — Circle’s Avalon Twin (4) [HPS-4000]
1985-12-20 … Winnipeg, MB — Cineplex Odeon’s Odeon (6)
Note that some of the presentations included in this listing may have been
presented in 35mm during the latter week(s) of engagement due to contractual
terms or print damage and the distributor’s unwillingness to supply a 70mm
replacement print or because the booking was moved to a non-70mm-equipped
auditorium within a multiplex. As well, the reverse may have been true in
some cases whereas a booking began with a 35mm print because the lab was
unable to complete the 70mm print order in time for an opening-day delivery
or the exhibitor negotiated a mid-run switch to 70mm. In these cases, any
35mm portion of the engagement (or movement out of a branded auditorium) has
been included in the duration figure.
SUBSEQUENT 70MM ENGAGEMENTS & SCREENINGS
1986-02-07 … Calgary, AB — Cineplex Odeon’s Odeon Twin (1)
1986-02-07 … Toronto, ON — Cineplex Odeon’s Canada Square 8 (1) [THX]
1986-02-21 … Downers Grove, IL — Classic Cinemas’ Tivoli (1) [HPS-4000]
1986-04-11 … Augusta, GA — GTC’s National Hills (1)
1986-07-07 … Atlanta, GA — Fox [9th Annual Summer Film Festival]
The information included in this article was principally referenced from
film industry trade publications, regional newspaper promotion, print
enclosures, TAP records, and Dolby records. Special thanks to David Ayers,
Bill Kallay and Bill Kretzel.
International 70mm engagements of this title have not been accounted for in
this article.
If you believe this article contains any errors or omissions, please
consider emailing the
author or editor.
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