Sundance Kabuki!

The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting today that Sundance Cinemas (yes, that's Sundance as in Sundance Film Festival, Sundance Channel, and Robert Redford) has agreed to buy the AMC Kabuki Theatre in San Francisco's Japantown. AMC is selling the Kabuki to comply with anti-trust requirements related to its merger with Loew's Cineplex; Sundance Cinemas is a planned national chain of movie theatres specializing in documentaries, foreign films, and classic films. While San Francisco does already have the Landmark Theatres chain inhabiting that niche, I think that there is room for another 8 screens in the mix. As for the Kabuki, it seems to have become a bit of a bastard stepchild of the AMC chain, overshadowed by the newer AMC Van Ness and Loew's Metreon. Under new management with Sundance, the Kabuki will get a thorough remodeling as well as a different repertoire.

The current plan is for the Kabuki to remain open through the San Francisco International Film Festival (2006-04-20 through 2006-05-04), close for remodeling, and reopen in time for Christmas.

Yippee! I enjoy all of the theatres mentioned above, but I have high hopes for the new and improved Sundance Kabuki.

Technorati tags: Sundance, Kabuki, Sundance Cinemas, Robert Redford, AMC Theatres, arthouse, cinema, San Francisco, Japantown