Sensational-Adelaide.com

Interesting to see how this turns out. I hope they demolish the existing building and build a decent size apartment building though the height ristrictions in the area are quite tough.

Academy Cinema to close

TOM ZED
May 30, 2007 03:20pm

THE CURTAINS will fall on more than 30 years of movies when Wallis's Academy Cinema closes on August 8.

Apartments will be built in its place, according to radio reports.

Owners Bob Lorna and Michelle Wallis have sold The Hindmarsh Square cinema.

Wallis Program director Bob Parr said it had been an emotional decision for the family to sell the complex but that the profits from the sale would be used to improve Wallis's suburban cinemas.

"There's been a shift in how people go to see films and the suburban multiplexes are were most people are going these days," he said.

"Academy has been a great cinema for us since it was built in 1976 but these days most people are going to the suburban multiplexes," he said.

"There's been a shift in how people go to see films and the suburban multiplexes are were most people are going these days," he said.

"Academy has been a great cinema for us since it was built in 1976 but these days most people are going to the suburban multiplexes," he said.

This is why Hoyts, Reading or Greater Union need to build a decent state of the art cinema around the East End (maybe the upper end of Rundle Mall). With a minimum of 10 screens.

Because after Wallis shuts down all the city will only have Greater Union off Hindley Street (which is nothing special) and the Palace/Nova Cinemas on Rundle Street.

Maybe this new apartment building could incorporate a large cinema complex, timezone and bowling alley as the city lacks these facilities. Either way I hope this apartment building is 50m+ and doesn't effect the Griffins Head Hotel.

I belive the Palace or Nova has put in an application for an addition 10 screen adjacent to their current location not sure which one this is. The CBD population doesn't really warrent all these cinemas but once a few more apartment buildings have gone up the demand will increase for sure.

Whoa this is interesting news. Very interesting considering I live in the Bent St. apartments adjacent to the cinema. Those apartments would have to all face south though due to the Hungry Jacks carpark. Can't really see ACC allowing anything more than 10 storeys on that site... Really I don't think that it warrants anything above that anyway.

^^^^ Not neccessarily pistol. Had a quick check on the heigh limits map, and it falls into the 40m area, possibly could get 52m, if the potential developers were willing to fight for it, cause the way i see it is some of the site, if not most of it is in the 52m height range...Even at 40m its nothing to sneeze at, for a relatively low rise area.

do we really need more cinemas tho? The city one's arn't really that busy are they? .....I mean i know Hindley Street cinemas arnt exactly in the best spot.. and are abit daggy... as were the academy theatres.

but arn't cinemas getting a decline in business thanks to piracy and ilgal downloads... lately everyone seems to have seen the latest block busters (with next to perfect quality) at home a month before it comes out it cinemas. Theyre saying that it's not too long before there are going to be simaltanious DVD and Cinema realeses of films.

I think a new complex in the city will be good as the east end cinemas cater for only the arty style films, but not sure how big any possible owner would be willing to go

hopefully with this developement we will see the an upgrade of the rundown end of the square which always seems to be full of hippies doin drugs etc

Spiderman 3 broke a record for higest earnings in an opening week ever and then last week the new Pirates of the carribean movie did the same thing. I really don't think Cinemas are in trouble any time soon as people like the novelty of watching it on the big screen.

ahk, yeh nothing like the big screen... just seen a few newspaper stories about some of the big cinema's crying about their slump in business

crawf wrote:

"There's been a shift in how people go to see films and the suburban multiplexes are were most people are going these days," he said.

"Academy has been a great cinema for us since it was built in 1976 but these days most people are going to the suburban multiplexes," he said.

This is why Hoyts, Reading or Greater Union need to build a decent state of the art cinema around the East End (maybe the upper end of Rundle Mall). With a minimum of 10 screens.

Because after Wallis shuts down all the city will only have Greater Union off Hindley Street (which is nothing special) and the Palace/Nova Cinemas on Rundle Street.

Maybe this new apartment building could incorporate a large cinema complex, timezone and bowling alley as the city lacks these facilities. Either way I hope this apartment building is 50m+ and doesn't effect the Griffins Head Hotel.

What decade are you stuck in!!?!

I can see tourists falling over themselves to get to Adelaide to play in our timezone.

The city lacks these facilities for a reason. Nobody uses them. Did you read the article?

This isn't some country town like Mt Barker.

rev wrote:

crawf wrote:

"There's been a shift in how people go to see films and the suburban multiplexes are were most people are going these days," he said.

"Academy has been a great cinema for us since it was built in 1976 but these days most people are going to the suburban multiplexes," he said.

This is why Hoyts, Reading or Greater Union need to build a decent state of the art cinema around the East End (maybe the upper end of Rundle Mall). With a minimum of 10 screens.

Because after Wallis shuts down all the city will only have Greater Union off Hindley Street (which is nothing special) and the Palace/Nova Cinemas on Rundle Street.

Maybe this new apartment building could incorporate a large cinema complex, timezone and bowling alley as the city lacks these facilities. Either way I hope this apartment building is 50m+ and doesn't effect the Griffins Head Hotel.

What decade are you stuck in!!?!

I can see tourists falling over themselves to get to Adelaide to play in our timezone.

The city lacks these facilities for a reason. Nobody uses them. Did you read the article?

Rev your a idiot did I mention anything about tourists??..no. Did you read the article?? apparently not "but these days most people are going to the suburban multiplexes". So the fact is most people do want these facilities but they have to travel into the suburbs because the facilities in the city are very poor compared to the suburbs.

And if no one goes to the cinemas why the hell have cinemas opened in West Lakes, Mt Barker, Elizabeth in the last few years and a new Wallis complex about to open up in Mitcham. Plus plans to redevelop the Glenelg cinema.

Really the CBD is getting further behind the suburbs for family entertainment, though if these facilities such as cinemas, game arcades, ten pin bowling etc... were brought back into the CBD then it would give the suburbs stiff competition and give people more of a reason to head into town instead of the large modern suburban shopping complexes (especially on weekends)

Of course not everyone would use them, but there would be a huge number of people who would (mostly families).

my 2c worth.

This isn't some country town like Mt Barker.

Really isn't it?

if you look at other cities....None of them really have decent cinemas in and around the city.. Most people that live in city apartments will want to do other things with their time....like bars /cafes/restaurant.

Going to the movies for city dwellers will be secondary to the above.

The most thriving cinema complex in Melbourne is in the outskirts of the CBD (Jam Factory) on chapel street. Not only do they have many screens, lots of eateries and other things to do, they have an extensive Gold Class section, where you sit in amazing comfort have seat service of fine food and wine and many other things to attract people. It is at a premium of course.

I don't believe there is a cinema anywhere in adelaide that offers this. The closest and most cosmopolitan cinema complex that can possibly do something like that is cinema complex on the parade.

I think its a great to envisage a residential tower in place of the cinema coupled to some retail sections to liven up the region...Of course views of the HJ car park are not my idea of a good selling point!

I don't believe there is a cinema anywhere in adelaide that offers this. The closest and most cosmopolitan cinema complex that can possibly do something like that is cinema complex on the parade.

Gold Class at Greater Union Megaplex Marion
Gold Lounge at Reading Cinemas West Lakes

if you look at other cities....None of them really have decent cinemas in and around the city.. Most people that live in city apartments will want to do other things with their time....like bars /cafes/restaurant.

Melbourne has quite a few cinema complexes, locations I can think of is Crown Casino, Bourke St and few others...

crawf wrote: Gold Class at Greater Union Megaplex Marion
Gold Lounge at Reading Cinemas West Lakes

Obviously those cinema's have had upgrades since i was last in Adelaide. One can not classify these as CBD cinemas!

crawf wrote: Melbourne has quite a few cinema complexes, locations I can think of is Crown Casino, Bourke St and few others...

crown is not CBD, but you are correct the crown complex is busy, but the difference here it is a huge complex of pubs/clubs restaurants/cafes/retail and of course the casino, so hence it wuld be busy. We don't have anything like that in our CBD.

The inner CBD cinemas in melbourne are quite dull and drab and don't really do too well when compared to those cimemas in the city outskirts!

champsman wrote: Plus, why are we always so damn worried what Melbourne is doing? I think we'd do better to model ourselves on a larger, thriving city. The way I see it, there is no point aiming at the next rung on the ladder, which lets face it Melbourne is, lets aim at the top.

We have to walk before we can run champs...we are roughly 3 times smaller than Melbourne and about 4 times smaller than Sydney.....Between these two cities Melbourne is the more cosmopolitan and cosmotolerant if you know what i mean! Importantly over the last 20 years the Melbourne CBD has been transformed into its present day setting. We can learn a lot from their stuff ups as well as their successes and model it into our gorgeous city.

stelaras wrote:

crawf wrote: Gold Class at Greater Union Megaplex Marion
Gold Lounge at Reading Cinemas West Lakes

Obviously those cinema's have had upgrades since i was last in Adelaide. One can not classify these as CBD cinemas!

You never said in the CBD.

crown is not CBD, but you are correct the crown complex is busy, but the difference here it is a huge complex of pubs/clubs restaurants/cafes/retail and of course the casino, so hence it wuld be busy. We don't have anything like that in our CBD.

Crown is more like apart of the CBD, its right on the edge of the Yarra River.

We have Rundle Mall, Rundle Street, Hindley Street etc... which is filled with thousands of people.

We have to walk before we can run champs...we are roughly 3 times smaller than Melbourne and about 4 times smaller than Sydney.....Between these two cities Melbourne is the more cosmopolitan and cosmotolerant if you know what i mean! Importantly over the last 20 years the Melbourne CBD has been transformed into its present day setting. We can learn a lot from their stuff ups as well as their successes and model it into our gorgeous city.

Hear hear.

The East End is Adelaide's hi-rise residential precient, so it would be best to capitalise on developing a cinema complex around that area. I know IMAX was a failure, but nobody wanted to see 3D movies. Given Adelaide's ageing population, and more working-class citizens, I'm pretty sure theres more than a few couples who wouldn't mind going to the big screens for a night out after delicious dinner on Rundle Street. I would.

Academy was a shithole by the way.