“Almost like a real web site”
 

IN7OMM.COM
Search | Contact
News | e-News
Rumour Mill | Stories
Foreign Language
Auf Deutsch

WHAT'S ON IN 7OMM?

7OMM FESTIVAL
Karlsruhe | Gentofte
Krnov | Varnsdorf
Banská Bystrica
Oslo | Bradford

TODD-AO PROCESS
Films | Premiere
People | Equipment
Library | Cinemas
Distortion Correcting
DP70 / AAII Projector
 

VISION, SCOPE & RAMA
1926 Natural Vision
1929 Grandeur
1930 Magnifilm
1930 Realife
1930 Vitascope
1952 Cinerama
1953 CinemaScope
1953 Panavison
1954 VistaVision
1955 Todd-AO
1955 Circle Vision 360
1956 CinemaScope 55
1957 Ultra Panavision 70
1958 Cinemiracle
1958 Kinopanorama
1959 Super Panavision 70
1959 Super Technirama 70
1960 Smell-O-Vision
1961 Sovscope 70
1962
Cinerama 360
1962 MCS-70
1963 70mm Blow Up
1963 Circarama
1963 Circlorama
1966 Dimension 150
1966
Stereo-70
1967 DEFA 70
1967 Pik-A-Movie
1970 IMAX / Omnimax
1974 Cinema 180
1974 SENSURROUND
1976 Dolby Stereo
1984 Showscan
1984 Swissorama
1986 iWERKS
1989 ARRI 765
1990 CDS
1994 DTS / Datasat
2001 Super Dimension 70
2018 Magellan 65

Various Large format | 70mm to 3-strip | 3-strip to 70mm | Specialty Large Format | Special Effects in 65mm | ARC-120 | Early Large Format
7OMM Premiere in Chronological Order

7OMM ON EARTH

Australia | Brazil | Canada | China | Denmark | England | France | Germany | Holland | India | Iran | Israel | Ireland | Mexico | Norway | Poland |  Russia | Spain | Sweden | Turkey | USA |

LIBRARY
7OMM Projectors
People | Eulogy
65mm/70mm Workshop
The 7OMM Newsletter
Back issue | PDF
Academy of the WSW

7OMM NEWS
• 2026 | 2025 | 2024
2023 | 2022 | 2021
2020 | 2019 | 2018
2017 | 2016 | 2015
2014 | 2013 | 2012
2011 | 2010 | 2009
2008 | 2007 | 2006
2005 | 2004 | 2003
2002 | 2001 | 2000
1999 | 1998 | 1997
1996 | 1995 | 1994
 

in70mm.com Mission:
• To record the history of the large format movies and the 70mm cinemas as remembered by the people who worked with the films. Both during making and during running the films in projection rooms and as the audience, looking at the curved screen.
in70mm.com, a unique internet based magazine, with articles about 70mm cinemas, 70mm people, 70mm films, 70mm sound, 70mm film credits, 70mm history and 70mm technology. Readers and fans of 70mm are always welcome to contribute.

Disclaimer | Updates
Support us | Staff
Testimonials
Table of Content
 

 
 
Extracts and longer parts of in70mm.com may be reprinted with the written permission from the editor.
Copyright © 1800 - 2070. All rights reserved.

Visit biografmuseet.dk about Danish cinemas

 

“Ghostbusters”: The 70mm Engagements
“They’re here to save the world.”

Read more at
in70mm.com
The 70mm Newsletter
Compiled by: Michael Coate Date: 26.07.2016
7OMM Frame from "Ghostbusters". Click to see enlargement.

The following is a reference / historical listing of the 70-millimeter engagements of “Ghostbusters” in the United States and Canada. These were the cinemas worth seeking out to experience this motion picture.

“Ghostbusters” was among sixteen confirmed first-run films released in 1984 with 70mm prints for selected engagements. Fifty 70mm prints were reportedly struck for distribution in North America and represented about four percent of the film’s total initial print run. The Columbia release — directed by Ivan Reitman (“Stripes”, “Twins”) and starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis and Rick Moranis — opened June 8th.

Pre-release screenings included a premiere on June 7th at the Avco Center in Los Angeles.

For the release of “Ghostbusters”, 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 “Ghostbusters” featured Six-Track Dolby Stereo (“A” encoded Baby Boom format) and letterboxed imagery (approximately 2.39:1) blown up from anamorphic 35mm*.

*The film’s visual effects were photographed in 65mm, but conflicting details exist as to whether these sequences were printed entirely through a 65/70mm workflow and combined in the 65mm inter-negative stage with enlarged principal photography footage or if they were reduced to 35mm and blown back up to 70mm along with the 35mm-originated principal photography sequences.

Columbia circulated 70mm Six-Track Dolby coming-attraction trailers for “The Karate Kid” and “Sheena” during the initial weeks of the release of “Ghostbusters.” Over the course of the film’s lengthy release, Columbia circulated additional 70mm trailers, including “Micki & Maude”, “No Small Affair”, “A Passage to India”, “The Razor’s Edge”, “A Soldier’s Story” and “Starman”. Other studios circulated 70mm trailers during this period, as well. Ultimately, any 70mm trailers screened during 70mm presentations of “Ghostbusters” varied by venue and screening.

The duration of the engagements (measured in weeks) is included for some entries in parenthesis following the applicable cinema name.

ALABAMA
Huntsville — United Amusement’s Madison Twin (26)

ARIZONA
Tucson — Plitt’s Foothills 4 (27)

ARKANSAS
Little Rock — UA’s Heights (17)

BRITISH COLUMBIA
Vancouver — Odeon’s Park* (15)

CALIFORNIA
Burlingame — Syufy’s Hyatt Triplex (24) [70mm from Week 3]
Cerritos — UA’s Cerritos Mall Twin (17)
Los Angeles — GCC’s Avco Center Triplex (18) [THX]
Los Angeles — Mann’s Chinese Triplex (16)
Los Angeles — Mann’s Valley West 6 (16)
Los Angeles — Pacific’s Northridge 6 (16) [70mm from Week 4]
Marina del Rey — UA’s Marina Marketplace 6 (16)
Oakland — Renaissance Rialto’s Grand Lake Twin (19)
Orange — Syufy’s Cinedome 6 (19)
Pleasant Hill — Syufy’s Century 5 (27)
Riverside — UA’s Park Sierra 6 (19)
Sacramento — Syufy’s Century 6 (26)
San Francisco — Plitt’s Northpoint (19)
San Jose — Syufy’s Town & Country (26)
Westminster — UA’s Westminster Mall Twin (17)

COLORADO
Littleton — Commonwealth’s Cooper 7 (1+) [HPS-4000]

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Washington — Circle’s Uptown (17)

FLORIDA
Fort Lauderdale — GCC’s Galleria 4 (15) [opened June 13th]

HAWAII
Honolulu — Consolidated’s Waikiki Twin (17) [HPS-4000]

ILLINOIS
Calumet City — Plitt’s River Oaks 6 (17)
Niles — Essaness’ Golf Mill Triplex (10)
Norridge — M&R’s Norridge 4 (10)
Schaumburg — Plitt’s Woodfield 4 (17)

KANSAS
Overland Park — Commonwealth’s Ranch Mart 4 (26) [70mm from Week 12]

KENTUCKY
Louisville — Redstone’s Showcase 9 (28)

MANITOBA
Winnipeg — Odeon’s Garrick 4* (20)

MARYLAND
Catonsville — Westview 6** (23) [70mm from Week 2]

MASSACHUSETTS
Boston — Sack’s Cheri Triplex (16)
West Springfield — Redstone’s Showcase 10 (20)

MICHIGAN
Troy — UA’s The Movies at Oakland 5 (20)

MISSOURI
Independence — Mid-America’s Blue Ridge East 5 (17)
Sunset Hills — Mann’s Mark Twain (17)

NEW JERSEY
Paramus — RKO Century’s Route Four 10 (20)

NEW YORK
DeWitt — Carrols’ Shoppingtown Twin*** (19)
New York (Brooklyn) — RKO Century’s Kingsway 5 (16)
New York (Manhattan) — Loews’ New York Twin (16)
New York (Manhattan) — Loews’ State Twin (15)

OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma City — Commonwealth’s Quail Twin (19)

ONTARIO
Ottawa — Odeon’s St. Laurent Twin* (18)
Toronto — Odeon’s York Twin* (19)

OREGON
Beaverton — LT’s Westgate Triplex (19)

PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia — Sameric’s Eric’s Place (20)

QUEBEC
Montreal — Odeon’s Place du Canada* (27)

TEXAS
Addison — UA’s Prestonwood Creek 5 (19) [THX] [70mm from Week 12]

UTAH
Taylorsville — Plitt’s Midvalley 6 (20)

WASHINGTON
Bellevue — SRO’s Factoria 5 (19) [70mm from Week 3]
Lynnwood — SRO’s Grand Alderwood 5 (19)
Tacoma — SRO’s Tacoma South 5 (20)
Tukwila — SRO’s Lewis & Clark 7 (28) [70mm from Week 3]

*During the course of the engagement the cinema ownership changed from Odeon to Cineplex Odeon via the merger of the Cineplex and Canadian Odeon chains.

**During the course of the engagement the cinema was renovated from six to eight screens.

***During the course of the engagement the cinema ownership changed from Carrols to Cinema National.

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.
 
More in 70mm reading:

70mm Engagements

70mm Blow Up List

Internet link:

 

SUBSEQUENT 70MM ENGAGEMENTS & SCREENINGS

 
1984-09-21 … New York, NY — Guild’s Embassy I (5)
1984-09-21 … Vancouver, BC — Cineplex Odeon’s Vogue (5)
1984-09-28 … Nashville, TN — Martin’s Belle Meade (2)
1984-09-28 … West Covina, CA — Sanborn’s Eastland 5 (3)
1984-10-05 … Bloomingdale, IL — Plitt’s Stratford Square 8 (3)
1984-10-12 … Los Angeles, CA — Plitt’s Century Plaza Twin (2) [HPS-4000]
1984-10-19 … Seattle, WA — Seven Gables’ Crest 4 (8)
1984-10-19 … Toronto, ON — Famous Players’ Cumberland 4 (5)
1984-10-26 … Winnipeg, MB — Towne 8 (11) [70mm during Week 7]
1984-11-09 … Boise, ID — Plitt’s 8th Street Marketplace Twin (1)
1984-11-16 … Phoenix, AZ — Plitt’s Cine Capri (1)
1984-12-14 … Vancouver, BC — Cineplex Odeon’s Park (1)
1984-12-21 … Carmel, IN — Heaston’s Woodland Twin (5)
1984-12-21 … Norfolk, VA — Naro (1)
1984-12-26 … Atlanta, GA — Fox [Holiday Film Festival]
1984-12-28 … Atlanta, GA — Fox [Holiday Film Festival]
1984-12-28 … Toronto, ON — Cinesphere (5 days) [70mm festival]
1984-12-29 … Atlanta, GA — Fox [Holiday Film Festival]
1984-12-30 … Atlanta, GA — Fox [Holiday Film Festival]

1985-03-27 … Dallas, TX — Landmark’s Inwood Triplex [USA Film Festival w/ R. Edlund Q&A]
1985-08-23 … Edmonton, AB — Cineplex Odeon’s Plaza Twin (5)
1985-08-23 … New York, NY — Walter Reade’s Ziegfeld (7)
1985-08-23 … Oklahoma City, OK — Commonwealth’s Quail Twin (3)
1985-08-30 … Vancouver, BC — Cineplex Odeon’s Park (2)
1985-09-27 … Edmonton, AB — Cineplex Odeon’s Meadowlark (1)
1985-11-14 … Norfolk, VA — Naro [w/ “Rambo: First Blood Part II”] (70mm?)
1985-11-22 … Cleveland, OH — CWRU’s Strosacker [CWRU Film Society series]

1986-01-29 … Toronto, ON — Cinesphere (5 days) [70mm festival]

1989-09-?? … Boston, MA — Sheraton Hotel [Noreascon 3 / World Science Fiction Convention] (?)

1993-10-29 … West Allis, WI — Paradise (2 days)

1994-02-25 … Vancouver, BC — Caprice [Fri-Sat midnight]

1996-09-13 … Los Angeles, CA — Mann’s Plaza [Fri-Sat midnight]
1996-10-25 … Chicago, IL — Cineplex Odeon’s Navy Pier IMAX [Fri-Sat late night]

1997-10-31 … Baltimore, MD — Durkee’s Senator (2 days)

1998-10-26 … Indianapolis, IN — White River State Park IMAX (1) [70mm series]

1999-05-07 … Los Angeles, CA — Mann’s Plaza [Fri-Sat-Sun midnight]

2000-10-06 … Columbia Heights, MN — Heights

2004-03-?? … Seattle, WA — Cinerama [sci-fi festival]
2004-09-04 … Boston, MA — Sheraton Hotel [Noreascon 4 / World Science Fiction Convention]

2005-08-07 … San Francisco, CA — Castro [70mm festival]
2005-10-18 … Chicago, IL — Music Box (1)

2006-06-30 … Santa Monica, CA — American Cinematheque’s Aero [70mm festival]

2007-09-21 … San Francisco, CA — Castro [70mm festival; w/ “Lifeforce”]
2007-11-04 … Seattle, WA — Cinerama [70mm festival]
2007-11-06 … Seattle, WA — Cinerama [70mm festival]
2007-11-11 … Seattle, WA — Cinerama [70mm festival]
2007-11-14 … Seattle, WA — Cinerama [70mm festival]

2010-10-30 … Los Angeles, CA — American Cinematheque’s Egyptian

2012-04-28 … Seattle, WA — Cinerama [sci-fi fest]
2012-09-17 … Austin, TX — Alamo Drafthouse’s Ritz [70mm series]
2012-09-19 … Austin, TX — Alamo Drafthouse’s Ritz [70mm series]
2012-09-20 … Austin, TX — Alamo Drafthouse’s Ritz [70mm series]
2012-10-26 … Los Angeles, CA — American Cinematheque’s Egyptian (2 days)

2013-10-31 … Silver Spring, MD — AFI Silver [Halloween on Screen series]
2013-11-02 … Silver Spring, MD — AFI Silver [Halloween on Screen series]
2013-11-03 … Silver Spring, MD — AFI Silver [Halloween on Screen series]

2015-10-30 … Los Angeles, CA — American Cinematheque’s Egyptian

2016-02-19 … Chicago, IL — Music Box [70mm festival]
2016-02-21 … Chicago, IL — Music Box [70mm festival]
2016-02-25 … Chicago, IL — Music Box [70mm festival]
2016-10-15 … Somerville, MA — Somerville [Terror-thon]
2016-11-10 … Tucson, AZ — The Loft

2017-04-02 … Winston-Salem, NC — UNCSA Main [RiverRun Film Festival]
2017-04-07 … Portland, OR — Hollywood [70mm series]
2017-08-27 … Seattle, WA — Cinerama [70mm festival]

2018-09-?? … Seattle, WA — Cinerama [70mm festival]
2018-09-08 … Austin, TX — Alamo Drafthouse’s Ritz (3 days)

2023-01-24 … Cleveland, OH — Strosacker [CWRU Sci-Fi Marathon]

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 Ann at the USA Film Festival, Mary Dossinger (RiverRun International Film Festival), Ana Gomes, Bill Kallay, Bill Kretzel, Mark Lensenmayer, Morgan Montague, Scott Norwood and an extra special thank-you to the librarians who helped with this project.

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.
 
 
   
Go: back - top - back issues - news index
Updated 28-07-24