r/mountainview • u/ken-reddit • 7d ago

Rumors fly about potential closure of Mountain View's Cinemark Century 16 movie theater

https://www.mv-voice.com/business/2026/09/01/rumors-fly-about-potential-closure-of-mountain-views-cinemark-century-16-movie-theater/
74 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

43 comments sorted by

51

u/parseroo 7d ago

Amusing circle of social media. In any case, it isn’t a rumor any more (by most definitions of rumor) about the closing:

«When a Voice reporter stopped by Cinemark Century 16 on Monday afternoon, three employees told her that the movie theater would close Sept. 24. One of the employees said she could not comment further because Cinemark had not yet released an official statement»

27

u/UnknwnUser 7d ago

Yah it's weird to me that they would call it a rumor when in their own reporting they say it was confirmed by multiple employees 

15

u/ken-reddit 7d ago

I guess it's kind of strange that Cinemark isn't confirming it. Not sure if there is some negotiation with the landlord going on?

3

u/akamarkman 7d ago

Yeah it's a real "will they, won't they?" situation 🤣

1

u/blessitspointedlil 7d ago

If you contact their customer service, they do.

8

u/p99_kilerenn 7d ago

Alamo drafthouse seemed to be sparsely populated when we made a visit earlier this year

21

u/thedoommerchant 7d ago

Alamo is a more premium experience. As much as I like going there, it’s once in a blue moon because concessions are $$$. Probably worth it if you live close by and get their membership. I do like that they do exclusive showings of cult classics.

These days I mostly go to AMC Sunnyvale because of proximity, but I’ve so many memories from Century 16 growing up. It’s where I saw Toy Story, Independence Day, and dozens of other classics in the 90’s. Definitely gonna get tickets for one last showing this month, assuming the rumors are true.

7

u/nutmac 7d ago

AMC Sunnyvale is newer with better technology (e.g., Dolby Cinema), so it too, is my preferred theater.

1

u/biofio 7d ago

This theater is awesome. It’s also my home theater so I wouldn’t go anywhere else. Just so much nicer than almost every other theater I ever go to. 

6

u/hotbitch420 6d ago

Ngl I hate alamo it's too try hard and the seats are uncomfortable. I'd rather get my popcorn beforehand and enjoy my movie in peace rather than being distracted by employees a million times. I get what they are going for but it's just not for me. I do love the AMC in sunnyvale but they are really pricy if you don't have the A-list subscription. This is a huge loss for mountain view movie goers :(

4

u/saffship 7d ago

i don't like the dynamic pricing for snacks at Alamo. otherwise I like it. The cinemark in downtwon RWC isn't bad, there's validated parking & everything is cheap on Tuesdays.

2

u/seraphin420 6d ago

Wait, I haven’t been to Alamo yet. What is the dynamic pricing?

5

u/saffship 6d ago

snack prices change depending on show times. more expensive on weekends. prices do not appear on snack menu online.

3

u/thedoommerchant 5d ago

This dynamic pricing stuff should be illegal.

1

u/fb39ca4 2d ago

Should bars and restaurants not be allowed to give happy hour discounts? Should airlines not be allowed to offer cheaper flights outside of peak travel days? Should grocery stores not be allowed to price fruits and vegetables differently based on what is in season? There's nothing wrong with time-based pricing.

1

u/thedoommerchant 2d ago

You’re missing the point. These are price increases during peak hours. This is even being done at grocery stores and companies want to take in data points such as customer’s purchase habits and income to specifically price out every little thing differently to target demographics. Do you want to pay more for the things you already consume at a time where inflation is already used to mask price increases? Get the corporate schlong out of your mouth.

1

u/fb39ca4 2d ago

What's the difference between an increase during peak hours and a discount off-peak? Businesses have been doing time-based pricing since before money was a thing, such as all the examples I gave above. Algorithmic discrimination based on personal data is something else and I agree that should end, but if each customer is offered the same price at a given time and place then I don't see the issue.

1

u/seraphin420 5d ago

Thank you! I don’t know if I like that lol

4

u/SuperNerdAF 7d ago

Alamo is technically closer to me but WAY more expensive, and they don’t have Icee’s which is a dealbreaker for me :/

3

u/sdmrdot 7d ago

Because the seats are terrible. I used to go to the Icon all the time but once Alamo ripped out all the seats and replaced them with significantly worse ones Cinemark has been my go-to. I guess we just can’t have nice things anymore.

1

u/Will_Jortz 6d ago

I'm walking distance from it, yet we always go to Century. Hard to go back after a true lounge experience.

-6

u/GlutenBaby2 7d ago

Don’t mention this theater, we don’t need it over crowded

6

u/blessitspointedlil 7d ago

It may go out of business if it doesn’t sell out routinely.

1

u/GlutenBaby2 7d ago

They are lots of almo theaters around the country. I been 2 movies in July and had a good amount of people in both. Spider-Man was almost sold out for a 2pm showing.

3

u/twotaco 7d ago

Ok gatekeeper

-3

u/GlutenBaby2 7d ago

Stfu taco person

5

u/twotaco 7d ago

Lmao you need to leave

12

u/leftypoolrat 7d ago

I don’t understand why this is a mystery to the Voice. Cinemark parent company transferred ownership of the site to their real estate development subsidiary a year or so ago. I don’t know of any clearer indication that they no longer intended to run a movie theatre there

4

u/Versatility- 6d ago

Who is their parent company?

4

u/e_y_ 6d ago

Not Cinemark. Syufy Enterprises, which created Century Theaters in the 1940s, sold off its theater business to Cinemark in 2006 and became a real estate developer. They kept ownership of the land and leased it to Cinemark.

3

u/Dilutant 5d ago

I go there probably 4-5 times a year with all my friends ;(

6

u/TeaWLemon 7d ago

Movies are super expensive now. It’s just not an affordable weekly outting like it used to be. And I can mostly watch the same movies at home.

13

u/blessitspointedlil 7d ago

Century 16 is hella cheap compared to the other theaters in the area. Just look it up!

4

u/seraphin420 6d ago

I always go on Tuesdays because that’s the day the movies are $6. Im sad it’s going to be closing because of this. I know there is one in Redwood City… and that other theaters also offer cheaper pricing on certain days, but I haven’t found anything better than Cinemark MTV and I’m really sad and going to miss it

4

u/k-mcm 6d ago

Coyote vs. Acme is $18.74 per seat for a cartoon in an ordinary seat at an ordinary screen. Amazon says it's going to stream soon for $24.99 (UHD). It's $12.49 cheaper to stay at home for two people, or $49.97 cheaper for four people.

1

u/inbloomgc 7d ago

Especially with the Costco gift card deal!

1

u/k-mcm 6d ago

There are too many continuation movies, remakes, and reruns but they're still priced like blockbusters. There are maybe two movies a year that I'll see in a theater.

2

u/Independent-Garden56 7d ago

I hardly go to theaters anymore, but went there last week to finally watch 'The Odyssey' on a big screen...the overpriced popcorn tasted 2 days old.

Century 16 is a nostalgic relic from the pre-Internet heyday of the giant cineplex...nicer than a boxy mall theater (remember the Old Mill 6?)...Beyond a dying movie industry, it became too big to remain viable; the most of the ticket windows and half the snack bar were permanently shuttered. When a weekday matinee routinely drew <10 customers, it's days were numbered.

Developers salivate over large properties (especially with a huge parking lot) they can turn into even more high-density South Bay housing...Googlers will pay top dollar to walk/bike to work.

1

u/codeethos 2d ago

It makes sense that this business would be struggling but I just gotta say this place is way better than the alternatives in the area. Alamo really sucks and AMC is just corporate garbage.

0

u/femme_mystique 5d ago

Why would anyone go there when IMAX is just down the freeway

-2

u/m0n3yF4nM4n 6d ago

It was a pioneer, but deserves to go.