Cinemark takes over Blue Oaks Cinema 16

Just over a year after the Rocklin opening of Blue Oaks Cinema 16, the business is changing hands and its name.Cinemark took over operation of the all-digital 3,000 seat multiplex last Friday, renaming it the Blue Oaks Century Theatres. Blue Oaks Cinema opened in November 2010 under the ownership of family-owned Santa Rosa Entertainment. Cinemark operates the world's second largest movie theater chain with more than 400 movie houses worldwide and earns more than $1 billion from ticket sales annually."We are excited to be in the area," said James Meredith, Cinemark USA, Inc.'s vice president of Marketing and Communications.Movie-goers will notice the first change when they get to the box office. General admission tickets are now $10, a 50 cent increase.However, admission for children, ages 3 to 11, dropped 50 cents."We lowered many of the pricing categories to match Cinemark's pricing in our other theatres in the Sacramento area," Meredith said. "Customers can expect great service. At Cinemark, our main focus is to provide the best movie-going experience possible for our customers."Rocklin moviegoer Amanda Millard found the box office closed until 4 p.m. last Friday due to the changeover."When I took the kids there on Friday, it seemed really hectic," Millard said.Some of the displays had changed, a new general manager was in place and Pepsi products had been replaced with Coca-Cola."We have no immediate plans for significant changes to the concession stand," Meredith said.Millard worried the free passes from Blue Oaks Cinema she had received a couple of weeks ago would not be honored. "Free passes will be honored," Meredith said.Still, Millard worries that prices may again increase."Especially now in these times, everyone is looking for a deal," Millard said. "It's expensive to go to the movies now."Customers can expect to see the new name on the theater as soon as the signs are approved by the city.In their email newsletter to patrons last week, SR Entertainment stated: "We have enjoyed serving the Rocklin area and appreciate your patronage over the last year."SR Entertainment still operates 11 theaters, including some in the Bay Area, Lodi and two in Southern California. Details of the sale have not been released nor could Entertainment CEO and President Dan Tocchini be reached for comment.Tocchini put nearly $10 million into converting the former Mervyn's department store. Last January Tocchini backed off his expectations of nearly 800,000 moviegoers visiting Blue Oaks annually. However, SR Entertainment officials told the Placer Herald the theatre was never a burden in terms of business and it was doing as expected. Meredith said Cinemark will continue to operate the Century Roseville 14 Theaters on Eureka Road in Roseville. Cinemark had been planning to build another 14-screen 2,587-seat theatre along Highway 65 at Washington and Blue Oaks Boulevard. That development is now on hold.Meredith said the 59-acre project, identified as Parcel 49, may move forward, but without a cinema."While we will focus on operating the theater in Rocklin, we still own the property in Roseville," Meredith said.The original development plan filed with the city of Roseville included 20,000 square-feet of hotel space, 36,000 square-feet of restaurant space, 637,000 square-feet of retail space and 25,000 square-feet of office space."We have reached out to potential tenants for the tract where the theatre was originally scheduled and we hope to be able to move forward with development plans soon," Meredith said.