Century Theatres

Background
Century Theatres is a movie theater chain formerly known as "SyuFy Luxury Theatres". They operate many multiplexes in the western United States, primarily in California, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. In its later years, it had expanded into the inter-mountain states, the Pacific Northwest, Texas, Alaska and parts of the Midwest. Founded in 1941, the chain was headquartered in San Rafael, California until it was acquired by Cinemark Theatres from Plano, Texas in 2006. Many now-Cinemark-owned theaters continue to operate under the Century brand.

(1980s-1992)


Nicknames: "Cinedome", "Theater In The Desert"

Logo: We zoom out from a theater located in a desert at night. The text "Syufy LUXURY THEATERS" ("Syufy" in script and "LUXURY THEATERS" in the Korrina font) scrolls down with a trail in front of it. The trail falls into the text, which lights up, while the words "Welcomes You..." wipe in below, just as the above text shines and glimmers. Two searchlights then turn on at the theater, while a diagonal wipe reveals the text "...to the Wonderful World of Movies". Then, "Your comfort is our main concern" is wiped in and off by the searchlights. Then, the theater policy guidelines are revealed in various ways as following:


 * The rule regarding management notification is wiped in by the searchlights, then wiped off by a comet.
 * After fading off, the same comet wipes in "Enjoy", as the rest of the guide on food and drink, along with a cup of Coke is revealed. The background of a seat with popcorn then fades in, then off altogether.
 * Fading back to the desert environment, the comet flies through again, as the rule regarding theatre cleanse scrolls from the left, then moves out to make space for the rule regarding silence.
 * As the text from before moves out, the rule regarding smoking wipes in with glimmer, then is wiped off by the searchlights. Offers for gift certificates and bargain matinees appear the same way.

"Thank You for your patronage" wipes in with a trail, then "AND NOW..." appears, then "SIT BACK, RELAX, AND ENJOY" scrolls down, while "OUR FEATURE PRESENTATION" zooms out with a trail in front of it. Finally, the trail falls into the text, and a shine fills the texts in.

Variant: Against a blue-black background, we see a bluish-silver light write out the word "Syufy" in its corporate font on the top left of the screen as the text "Luxury Cinemas" slides in from the top right. The text flashes, then a white light writes out the word "presents" in a smaller font. The works "Our Feature Attraction" (in black with red outlines) slide toward the bottom on the screen via a trailing effect. The words turn blue as a line of light slides across the Syufy Luxury Theaters logo, then the trailer fades out.

FX/SFX: The searchlights, the comet, the texts. For the variant, the various texts sliding/trailing or being written in.

Music/Sounds: An elevator music-like theme titled "Made In U.S.A".

Music/Sounds Variant: A space-synth fanfare which transitions to synth-jazz towards the end.

Availability: Extinct. It was only seen in a handful of theaters during the time before the name change. The variant was mainly used at Syufy's drive-in locations.

1st Logo (1992-late 1990s)


Nickname: "Your Ticket To Excellence"

Logo: On a blue background, the viewer sees the Century Theatres text in an orange to yellow gradient, then the ticket to excellence flies in front of the logo, and into the theatre. The viewer sees buckets of popcorn, and when it becomes hot, it then flies into a cup of Coca-Cola and out again, with boxes of Junior Mints and Oscar Mayer hot dogs seen in the background. The ticket flies to the Starcade to say hi to another ticket playing an arcade game, then brakes in front of the entrance to the theatre room with a yellow triangular sign that says "Quiet Zone Ahead". A Dolby Stereo poster is seen to the left in a frame before the ticket flies into the theatre. The ticket is shot into the screen, and it flies by a gift certificate, a matinee coupon, and a clapboard about the five day advance sales before the viewer is back to where the trailer started.

Capitol Theaters Variant: Against a starry night background, we see a pair of spotlights moving back and forth across the screen. A letter "C" flies out from the right side of the screen and positions itself on the left. The rest of the words "Century Theaters" then wipe in from the right of the "C". The text disappears as the phrase "Your Best Choice For Great Motion Picture Entertainment!" wipes in from the center of the screen. The words slide out as "The Capitol Theatre" slides in. Once positioned, the text "The Best Movies From The Past!" wipes in underneath. The image holds for five seconds before the trailer fades out.

FX/SFX: Good CGI for the early 90s, produced by Willming Reams Animation, but pretty dated now. For the Capitol version, the spotlights moving, the words wiping or sliding in/out.

Music/Sounds: A different part of "Made In U.S.A" with a female voice announcing the policy guidelines. It has the same ending as the SyuFy Luxury Theatres logo.

Music/Sounds Variant: An Old Hollywood-style brass fanfare.

Availability: Extinct. It has been seen in all Century theaters during the time, and was part of Century's logo montage during the last showing of Raiders of the Lost Ark at Century 21 before it closed. The variant was only seen at a few Capitol-branded theaters in the Northwest United States.

2nd Logo (1997?-2000)
Logo: A Dolby logo appears on the screen with the text "SOUND FOR THE NEXT CENTURY" shown below. The viewer sees a top-down shot of the Earth, then a meteor flies by. It explodes in the distance and flashes into the Century Theatres text in the Korrina font. The text "The Best Seat for the 21st Century" appears below, which then fades to the "OUR FEATURE PRESENTATION" text.

FX/SFX: The Dolby logo, the earth and meteor, and the finished logo. Very nice CGI!

Music/Sounds: SFX of the meteor, and a mystical fanfare.

Availability: Same as the previous logo.

Editor's Note: This logo is a favorite among people who went to Century Theatres during this time period thanks to its very nice animation and its great soundtrack.

3rd Logo (May 24, 2000-October 5, 2006)
Nicknames: "Searchlights", "Sound for the Next Century"

Logo: A Dolby logo appears on the screen with the text "SOUND FOR THE NEXT CENTURY" shown below. The curtains unravel to reveal that they are actually searchlights. The searchlights then move into place to form the text "Century" and then flashes to show the finished logo in the Korrina font. The URL to their website appears below, then fades to the "OUR FEATURE PRESENTATION" text.

FX/SFX: The still Dolby logo, and the CGI searchlights; very nice CGI produced by Wild Brain. Director Charlie Canfield wanted to avoid making an overly loud opening and limited his storyboard to key scenes. Carlos Baena animated the opening directly in Maya 2.5, using geometry layered with texture maps, and it was composited by Andrew Feder and Chris Green with Shake. Gray Horsfield and John Volny were technical directors and additional animators.

Music/Sounds: A synthesized soundtrack with SFX of the moving searchlights; scored and mixed by Marco d'Ambrosio at MarcoCo.

Availability: Same as before. First appeared on Mission: Impossible 2.

Editor's Note: This logo is a favorite among people who went to Century Theatres during this time period thanks to its very nice animation and the soothing, but bombastic soundtrack.