Regal Cinemas

Not to be confused with Regal Entertainment, Inc..

Background
Regal Entertainment Group is a major US cinema chain. Founded in 1989 as Regal Cinemas (its first location, the seven-screen Searstown Cinema in Titusville, Florida, was acquired from Orange State Theatres as a twin before the end of the year and opened the following March), within years they would become the owners of Edwards Theaters and United Artists Theaters. Regal, and rival AMC Theatres, were owners of the joint venture Open Road Films from its founding in 2011, up to 2017. Since December 2017, Regal is currently owned by London-based Cineworld Group, after they purchased Regal for $3.6 billion. This created the world's second largest cinema group.

1st Opening (1994-2000, March 2001-2004, Summer 2010-2018)
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Nicknames: "The Rollercoaster", "Regal Rollercoaster", "Ride to the Movies"

Opening: The opening starts with a futuristic rollercoaster car interior. A curved dashboard starts to display the Regal Theatre policy below in red, then it scrolls up to the bottom of the screen:

Welcome to Regal Cinemas (1994-2002) / Welcome to Regal Entertainment Group (2002-2015) Refreshments available in lobby In case of emergency please proceed to the nearest exit. Enjoy The Show!!!

The car starts moving on a track of filmstrip and goes up a ramp, passing by machinery, screens displaying "No Smoking" and "Quiet Please/No Talking During Movie", and wrappers flying into a large trashcan. The car exits the tunnel, then the dashboard moves off screen as the camera speeds up, goes through a filmreel, passes by various concessions, including Milk Duds, Butterfinger boxes, sodas [the labels ranged: Pepsi (1994-2002) or Coca-Cola (2002-2004, 2010-2015)], Twizzlers, and popcorn popping alongside two rising Regal Cinemas popcorn bags. The coaster drops again and enters a futuristic hall. The doors open, and we cut to outside the futuristic location as the rollercoaster car zooms by. Then the Regal logo moves in from the left of the screen to its usual position, tilted at an angle, and a sparkle forms on the edge of the crown.

Trivia: The opening was animated by SmithGroup Communications with Alias/Wavefront PowerAnimator, and later converted to Maya in 2002. It was designed by visual effects designer John McLaughlin (no affiliation with the John McLaughlin Group series), who has previously worked for LucasArts and DreamWorks. He passed away young on May 24, 2016 at the age of 46. For the 2010 version, Jim Dalgleish (who worked on the original) and another animator recreated the opening with Modo (tunnel rendering and coaster) and LightWave 3D (tunnel modeling and ending).

Variants:
 * 1998-2002: The design of the car's interior, the sky background, and the popcorn bags have been changed. The Butterfinger boxes are replaced with Reese's cups, and Pepsi's "Project Blue" logo replaces the 1991 version (white background, stripe with Pepsi logo). The Regal Cinemas logo at the end faces the screen directly and "FEATURE PRESENTATION" fades in below it in blue. Another version used during this period had Coca-Cola cups in place of Pepsi, used in theaters Regal bought out that still had Coca-Cola contracts in place.
 * 2002-2004: The dashboard is straight instead of curved with more details (including a handle that automatically moves). The Pepsi references are replaced with Coke references, the Reese's are replaced with Raisinets, and the popcorn bags are redesigned. The rollercoaster was given a sleeker look with small spinning fans on the bottom, the Regal logo is changed from Regal Cinemas to its current form (Regal Entertainment Group), the final note of the music is different (two notes, the Regal sounder), and "FEATURE PRESENTATION" is wiped in from the center with sparkling effects.
 * 2010-2015: The opening was redesigned again, this time in up-to-date CGI. Everything seen in the trailer is now far more detailed, with an ad for the Regal Crown Club appearing on the dashboard when the rollercoaster starts up. The dashboard displays the Regal Theatre policy in green: "Welcome to Regal Entertainment Group / Refreshments available in the lobby / In case of Emergency / please proceed to / the nearest exit. / Gift Cards available / for any special occasion. / Enjoy the Show!" The screens in the redesigned opening tunnel display "No Recording Devices or Cameras Allowed", "No Smoking" and "Hearing Impaired Devices/Available Upon Request". The rollercoaster's track is now a light-blue, still shaped like a filmstrip but with embedded circuitry (presumably because of the switchover to digital film). Before going through the filmreel, instead of concessions, Regal ads show up about private screening and birthday rooms. After that, new concessions are seen (Cookie Dough Bites, M&M's, and Sour Patch). The area where bare girders were before now have a billboard for Sprint. Also, the new futuristic exit scene is known to have various beat boxes, speakers that move a lot, sound inputs/outputs, especially other audio visual equipment as well where the scene pans up to the new rollercoaster design (the then-current redesign of the futuristic exit now looks different to the previous ones (nor is now in a huge, rectangular shape instead of a circle)). Even though, the rollercoaster itself now resembles more of a monorail/maglev style vehicle, and the Regal logo is far shinier, with the "FEATURE PRESENTATION" now in smaller text and separated from the logo by a large line.
 * 2013-2014: Geico ads were placed on the rollercoaster car, and replaced the Sprint ad. Also, the Twizzlers concession was replaced with a "Find us on Facebook/Join the Conversation on Twitter" ad, and the M&Ms have been replaced with Nestle's Crunch.
 * 2014-2015: A Regal icon now appears in place of the Geico ad.
 * For 3D movies (except before IMAX presentations), the opening appears in 3D.
 * There is a variant (introduced in 2010) where "Sony Digital Cinema 4K" appears in place of "Feature Presentation". This is shown in 4K auditoriums.
 * There is a short version used as of 2015. This version cuts to the logo positioning itself, however only "REGAL" is seen next to the emblem. "FEATURE PRESENTATION" is also in white. For this version, we hear the end of the music from the 3rd opening.

FX/SFX: The whole thing, which looks like a first-person rollercoaster ride, animated in breathtaking CGI. The 2010 version is even more mind-blowing.

Music/Sounds: A futuristic rock-like orchestration which is kinda fast-paced to match the opening's roller coaster theme. At one point, there's a loud popcorn pop sound. Before the rollercoaster, a female voice says: "Welcome to Regal Cinemas." (before 2002)/"Welcome to Regal Entertainment." (after 2002). "Refreshments are available in the lobby. And please, keep our theatre clean by disposing of trash in the specified containers. And remember: gift certificates are available for any special occasion. Enjoy the show!" In the 1990s versions, the popcorn pop sound was loud on screens equipped with Dolby Digital, and softer on screens not equipped with it.

Availability: Extinct. The original version was only shown in Regal theaters during the time. Meanwhile, the short version appeared appear after the previews, before the movie starts.

Editor's Note: This trailer is a favorite of many, thanks to the fantastic CGI.

2nd Opening (2004-2015)
Opening: TBA

FX/SFX: TBA

Music/Sounds: A repetition of the D and G guitar chords, with an announcer saying "Welcome to Regal Entertainment theatres. Please silence your cell phones. (Get rewarded with the Regal Entertainment platinum MasterCard.) Beverages provided by Coca-Cola. Refreshments are available in the lobby. Help us keep our theatres clean by disposing of trash in the specified containers. Regal Entertainment gift cards are available at our box office. Your feature presentation will begin after the following previews."

Availability: Extinct. Used to appear before some 3D movies (most auditoriums, including all 35mm auditoriums, later using the 3nd opening, and still others don't use a standard policy trailer at all, only using the Sprint cell phone policy trailer) and back-to-back with the 1st opening, if at all.

Editor's Note: None

3rd Opening (2015-November 12, 2020)
Regal Cinemas (2015)

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Nicknames: "The Rollercoaster II", "Regal Rollercoaster II", "Another Ride to the Movies"

Opening: In a futuristic-looking tunnel with a hi-tech rollercoaster, a "No Smoking" sign and Regal logos around the right wall and the door, we see a blue electronic grid saying "Welcome to Regal". On the left wall, a message appears saying "Dispose of Trash". The entrance opens to reveal a space-like background above the clouds. 2 rocket propellers bring up messages saying:

ASSISTIVE LISTENING CAPTIONING AND DESCRIPTIVE AUDIO DEVICES AVAILABLE

and:

NO RECORDING DEVICES OR CAMERAS ALLOWED

Then, the rollercoaster's grid writes another message saying:

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY PLEASE PROCEED TO THE NEAREST EXIT

The rocket propeller messages start to write:

NO TEXTING DURING THE MOVIE

and:

PLEASE SILENCE YOUR CELL PHONE

The camera then speeds up and we ride down to reveal a skyline. Billboards start to reveal concession covers (Sour Patch Kids, Nestle's Buncha Crunch, Nestle's Raisinets, Sour Patch). Right above the Sour Patch billboard, a Geico ad appears. We pan up to see the Regal Crown Club logo, with "Get Free Rewards!" below it. Suddenly, the environment becomes a Grand Canyon-like area. The rollercoaster grid writes "Gift Cards Available", and we pan down to see 2 Coca-Cola containers, the left one containing the Coca-Cola "Smiley Face" logo, and the right one containing the Regal logo. We then go through a tunnel, causing the environment to change to what looks like a purple alien planet. Suddenly, a piece of popcorn pops, causing other invisible popcorn kernels to pop and fill the screen. We go through the popcorn and stop at the cinema in a first-person view, with the track being in the middle and the seats being on the sides. Curtains unveil, and the Regal logo forms. It pans to the left to let the company name and the text "Please Enjoy These Coming Attractions" appear. The logo shines.

Variants:


 * Sometimes, the Regal logo and the text is replaced by a promotion on the screen for something Regal related, such as Regal gift cards, or an upcoming movie, such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows and Independence Day: Resurgence.
 * As of late October 2018, the newer Regal logo is in place of the old one. The camera pans towards the screen slower in this variant, as to accommodate for the longer animation.
 * On August 21, 2020, when Regal theatres were starting to open after a five month shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Coke containers were changed to Pepsi ones due to a new deal placed between Regal and Pepsi earlier that year.

FX/SFX: Astonishingly breathtaking CGI animation produced by Taylor James for The Tombras Group.

Music/Sounds: Originally a techno theme, but was changed to an orchestral theme the following year. Before the rollercoaster, a robot female voice (like in the 2nd opening) says Welcome to Regal. At the end the Regal sounder is played on french horns.

Availability: Current, and common. Can be seen in most Regal screens around the United States. However, its fate is uncertain due to the COVID-19 pandemic twice forcing Regal to close all locations until further notice.

Editor's Note: While some believe it's not as memorable as the 1st opening, it's still a favorite.

1st Opening (2007-October 29, 2018)
Nickname: "Floating AT&T/Sprint/Geico/Regal Opening"

Opening: The REG logo fades in [or in the AT&T logo, cuts in] over a dark, shadowy background. Some instrumental/synth music plays and a lady announcer says "Sprint (or AT&T) asks you to please be quiet and courteous to others and silence your cell phones now." The logo sponsoring the trailer zips in in some way (AT&T: Globe logo spins multiple times before stopping, Sprint: The yellow wave juts in from the left and stops midway, "Sprint, The Now Network" appears after.) The REG logo is under a spotlight and dust particles are shining. Under the logos are as follows: Regal Cinemas, Edward's and United Artists Theaters. About 20 seconds in, two film projectors appear at the top-left and right areas in frame (possibly to signal the projectionist to reel up the movie to the projector; according to a Regal worker, the projectionist should have the trailers and movie ready by the time the clip ends, and if not, the famous trailer freeze). They then spin and a light comes out of it. As this happens, the REG logo is ever-so-slowly spinning to the left.

Variant:
 * A 3D version has surfaced that takes the Sprint version and adds a disclaimer saying to put on your 3D glasses for "the best experience". The only known video capture of this was found on YouTube, but not long ago, it was removed. The remains are here.
 * Sometimes, a Geico version is shown, and the announcement goes "Geico asks you to please be quiet and courteous, and silence your cell phones now."
 * In 2014, the phone company logo was removed. This time, the announcement goes "Please, be quiet and courteous, and silence your cell phones now."
 * A new variant, introduced in 2016, has the logo replaced by the text "Enjoy the show!" with "Please be quiet and courteous to others" is below that. This was seen on Regal-licensed theaters that aren't actually run by Regal.

FX/SFX: Absolutely brilliant CGI work for the mid-2000s.

Music/Sounds: A soft piano/flute bit with some synth in the beginning.

Availability: Extinct. Was seen in 99% of the Regal Entertainment Group chain of theaters: Regal, Edward's, and UA during the time.

Editor's Note: None

1st Logo (October 30, 2018-November 12, 2020)
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Nicknames: "The Best Place to Watch a Movie", "The Aperture", "Is That Really a Crown?"

Logo: We see an orange camera aperture, with lots of orange crystals coming out of it. Those crystals start forming a crown. Once the crown is formed, it moves to the center of the screen, and rotates to a Birds eye view. A light in the crown forms an "R", creating the new regal logo. the word "REGAL" wipes in underneath the logo, underneath which, the text "The best place to watch a movie" wipes in. the logo becomes 2D. and fades out.

Trivia: The new logo’s orange color pays homage to Knoxville, the home of the Tennessee Volunteers, where Regal are based in. The logo itself represents the aperture of a camera, as well as a downward view of the signature Regal crown.

Variant: Sometimes, the logo stays on screen for a minute, before fading out.

FX/SFX: Amazing CGI!

Music/Sounds: It opens with a chime theme, which at one point bears an uncanny resemblance to the NBC Chimes. this rises into an orchestral fanfare, ending with the Regal Sounder. The Minute long version has ambient music for the remainder.

Availability: Current. Regal uploaded it to their YouTube Channel when the logo debuted, and it is also seen in theaters, before the 3rd opening. The logo is currently not being shown due to COVID-19 twice shutting down Regal until further notice.

Editors Note: The new logo has garnered some criticism, for not bearing a resemblance to a crown, hence the third nickname.