AMC Festival 6

The Festival 6 was a stunning revenue generator in the multiplex era of cinema exhibition. But neither of the companies behind the project’s inception would be the beneficiaries of its success. Deauville Development Corp. had made its profits from apartment complexes but decided to get deeply involved in shopping centers and, later, malls that sank its battleship. Here, it would create a modest strip center called the Deauville Plaza built in 1975 and anchored by a Randall’s grocery store. Deauville wanted a theater in all its retail ventures, if possible, and carved out a space for Robert L. Lippert Jr.’s Transcontinental Theatres which was making inroads in the Houston market. It had acquired the venerable River Oaks Theatre, and had created an innovative quadplex in a cooperative agreement with Hilton and located next to the Shamrock Hilton called the Shamrock 4.

In its new venture in Northwest Houston, Transcontinental had a choice of creating an excellent twin-screen venue, a fair four-plex, or a substandard but era-acceptable six-plex. It chose the latter going with six long, narrow shoebox auditoriums. The final known architectural draft of the venue had it as Transcontinental’s Plaza VI Cinemas. As the date of opening approached, however, it got a name change to the Festival 6 Cinemas launching on December 17, 1976 - ahead of most of the plaza. It opened with $1 “get acquainted” films. Sure. But the “now that we’re already acquainted” bookings were generally many months old under Trans-C indicating that they were being frugal on paying for the clearances to present contemporary Hollywood content. In fact, some of the original get acquainted titles made multiple encores that may not have been entirely warranted.

This pattern continued at the Festival for almost two years. Transcontinental was clearly flailing in the Houston market as evidenced by its launch of a three-plex at Briargrove Plaza but closing after just an 8-month run. It also moved on from the River Oaks. Trans-C opened a five-plex at Westchase - this one not just wedged in between shops - but actually designed to show movies properly. Knowing it was outgunned, Trans-C threw in the towel and sold out to competitor, American Multi-Cinema (AMC) effective October 4, 1978. Deauville Development would plunk down $100 million to build four fashion malls - three of which opened and one which didn’t on the way to its financial ruin. D'oh! Ville. All of its properties would change hands including the Deauville Plaza.

AMC was willing to bring contemporary, new release Hollywood films to the Festival 6, Shamrock 4 turned 6, and Westchase 5. Fortunes turned around quickly for two of the properties - the Festival and the Westchase - with the Shamrock sustaining flooding and closing in 1986. Weingarten Realty took on the Deauville Plaza in 1987 renaming it as the Northway Shopping Center providing much needed stability to the strip. It seemed impossible that the Festival could survive at all in the megaplex era of the early to mid-1990’s but it did just that. That is, until Cinemark opened its zone-changing Tinseltown U.S.A. 16-screen behemoth just 2.5 miles away on November 25, 1996. But in an oddity, AMC continued to book new product all the way to April 24, 1998. Take that, Cinemark 16.

But on April 24, 1998, AMC finally repositioned the venue as a $1.50, sub-run discount house. On May 21, 1999, prices increased all the way to $1.75. That was where the North Houston moviegoers drew the line. It was a quarter too much and the venue closed just two days later on May 23, 1999. Oh, and Edwards Circuit was already well along in construction on its high-tech Marq*e 23 megaplex about three miles to the south. So the Festival finally ended with “Prince of Egypt", “The Rage", “8mm", “She’s All That", “Cruel Intentions", “Payback", and the last showtimes for the appropriately titled, “Goodbye, Lover". AMC thanked patrons for its business - and they should have - in advertisements for the next few days.

The venue was stripped of its seats with floor leveled for retailers Office Max - up first - and a longer-running Conn’s Home Plus appliance store that lasted to that’s chain’s Chapter 7 demise in 2024. The only original element remaining as of the mid-2020’s was the AMC attractor - though stripped of any mention of the cinema. (Note: Between Office Max and Conn’s, the center changed the address from 11041 to 11051 Northwest Freeway ending or confounding the former 11041 NW address in many contemporary mapping systems. So 11051 is preferred for that reason.) Bottom line here: 22.5 years to an inherited 25 years lease was a major victory for AMC and its Deauville Plaza turned Northway Shopping Center partner.

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