Columbia Place Cinemas 8

7201-802 Two Notch Road,
Columbia, SC 29223

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: General Cinema Corp., Phoenix Big Cinemas, Regal Entertainment Group

Previous Names: Columbia Mall Cinemas, Phoenix Columbia Place Cinema 8

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Columbia Place Cinemas 8

Opened by General Cinemas on July 14, 1978 with 4-screens. On June 22, 1990 it became the Columbia Place Cinemas 8. By 2006 it was part of the Phoenix Big Cinemas, later taken over by Regal. It was closed in 2011. It was reopened in Spring of 2012 and was last operated by an independent, lasting for only 6-months until final closure.

Contributed by Lauren Grubb

Recent comments (view all 16 comments)

mg1
mg1 on September 14, 2012 at 10:09 pm

It actually is an old General Cinema theatre. I was the General Manager there back in 1997. It’s been closed and re-opened two or three times in the last fifteen years.

cvolosin
cvolosin on December 6, 2012 at 11:36 am

I am amazed that this location is now closed by their website… Should be changed to closed.. did someone build a Mega-Plex across the street or is the landlord just an A$$? it’s already stadium, the smell can be removed and the cleaning and coat of paint with the installation of digital projectors will generate income to then do seat replacements etc.. it looks like it was maintained by Regal.. if it had been a Carmike I wouldn’t even take a look it would be a shithole ran into the ground. an independent could get in here and make some money… the only thing must be a GREEDY LANDLORD!

CSWalczak
CSWalczak on December 6, 2012 at 12:25 pm

Since it had gone independent by the time of its closing, another factor in deciding to closemight have been the cost of conversion to digital. Converting eight screens, depending on whether Regal had converted any of them, would have be a heavy financial burden on an independent.

mcs1996
mcs1996 on June 28, 2016 at 11:33 am

in this theater’s most recent run (it closed in 2012 sometime) did it run 35mm or was it digital? thanks.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES on September 26, 2019 at 2:13 pm

I’m Pretty Sure GCC Had Took Over Operations In The Mid-Late 1980s.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES on April 29, 2021 at 9:23 am

On October 20, 1979, Sen. Strom Thurmond (D-SC) Was Instrumental In The Showings Of “Monty Python’s Life Of Brian” Was Cancelled At The Columbia Mall Cinema Due To Its Nature. Rev. Bill Soloman, A Preacher At The Minister In Irmo Gave Credit To Him. Mrs. Thurmond Received A Call From Soloman And Later Called The Operators, General Cinema, Distributors Of The Film, And Asked That The Film Will Be Banned, Or No Longer Be Seen In South Carolina As It Was Replied By The Minister. 150 Protestors Then Demonstrated Outside The Columbia Mall Cinema To Protest The Cancellation Of The Film. Many Of Them Were Carrying Placards To Voice Their Concern On Censorship.

Warner Brothers Notified That 2 Days Later They Were Accepting Bids For The Film.

Brandon Barkley
Brandon Barkley on December 2, 2021 at 8:49 am

There is a long article on a local site called Columbia Closings and I am going to summarize a few highlights here along with my own recollections.

  1. It was originally opened as simply the “Columbia Mall Theater” to the recollection of the blogger. It opened in the late 70s originally.
  2. It was located across from the Columbia Place Mall.
  3. It was closed and reopened (or possibly transferred without closing during a decline) to Phoenix Theaters. My only visit to this theater was under this branding in 2006. It was called the Phoenix Columbia Place Cinema 8 at the time.
  4. It received a remodel to stadium seating at some point after my visit in 2006. It then closed in 2011.
  5. It reopened in the Spring of 2012 as noted above as Columbia Place Stadium Cinemas, but that iteration only lasted about 6 months before it closed again due to lack of attendance.
  6. The last iteration seemed to have 3-D capability in at least some auditoriums.

mcs1996: I don’t know with 100% certainty, but I believe that it closed running 35mm. The version that closed in 2011 ended up with 35mm projectors in the lobby though. So I am not sure if the final version moved them back up to the booth or if they put in digital. It seems like a full digital conversion would have been an expensive proposition for a theater that was reopened independent and only lasted about 6 months.

rivest266
rivest266 on February 27, 2023 at 5:45 pm

Reopened June 22nd, 1990 with 8 screens. Grand opening ad posted.

Scott Neff
Scott Neff on March 2, 2023 at 10:37 am

So the original 4-plex was inside the mall? From the google imagery the newer building outside the mall looks like it has a 4-plex with a modern GCC wrapped around it.

dansdriveintheater
dansdriveintheater on April 22, 2023 at 7:31 pm

Wallieb26just uploaded an epic video of the cinema 10years later

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