Helene MacBeth | Writer
March 6, 2022
When the Outlets first opened, the citizens of San Clemente were promised a movie theater. Many were excited to have a replacement for Krikorian, the old movie theater that closed years ago. With the new theater, people would not have to drive out of their way to see a movie—San Clemente residents would have a theater in their hometown.
Although people were excited, their high expectations were let down for several years. The construction and development of the movie theater took much longer than most people anticipated, especially with the onset of Covid and the limitations that it placed on the project. However, the movie theater is now open, and to many people, it was worth the wait.
The theater—made by Metropolitan—has ten auditoriums and a variety of concessions. One of the auditoriums is an IMAX theater, which is an abbreviation for “image maximum,” and has a larger screen with better visual and audio quality. The concessions include popcorn, nachos, candy, pretzels, and many other treats that guests would expect to find at the movies.
San Clemente junior Sydney Van Dijk, who recently visited the MetroLux Theater, mentioned that the theater definitely stands out compared to others in the area. “The chairs were very comfortable since they were recliners and heated, which I hadn’t seen at previous movie theaters,” Van Dijk said. “I’ve been to movie theaters with recliners but never with heated seats.” Along with these reclined and heated seats, there are also seats that move from side to side with action as if the guest were in the movie.
Upon entry to the theater, guests are greeted by a large, silver escalator that leads up to the concessions. “The escalator was really nice compared to other movie theaters which usually have boring photos and wallpapers, but it was a bit scary walking straight into the escalator since I wasn’t expecting it,” Van Dijk added.
Though the theater has only been open for a week, it has already become popular according to Liam Wilfong, a junior who works at the MetroLux theater. “I worked the first five days that it opened and it was extremely busy,” he said. “It will only get busier because the restaurant and bar are opening soon.”
To book tickets, guests can go to the MetroLux website. There, they can choose which movie they would like to see, how many tickets they want, and what time they want to see the movie. After filling out this information, they can purchase the tickets online and get their receipt and tickets emailed to them.
Students across the campus at SCHS are excited to have a new movie theater open up. “I haven’t been yet, but I’m so excited we have a movie theater in San Clemente again because it gives me something to do with my boyfriend,” junior Macie Mayer said.
The wait is finally over, and while the project took much longer than expected, the theater has delivered on its promise of luxury cinema.
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