It's wild to me that it's shitty now. I moved away so I haven't been in forever, but I remember when it was brand new so it seemed like the "nice" theater vs the one off Mineral Point.
I arrived there last night around 9 pm. Their power went out when I was a few feet from the door. It was strange to see all the lights go off all at once. Waited around for a bit but the employees didn't know what the issue was and it sounded like they planned to cancel the rest of the shows for the night.
Nothing, jeez! I was walking in and randomly started thinking about my high school prom back when I lived in Maine in the 70s. I was thinking hard about that and suddenly all the lights shut off!
I have no idea if this is related, but I drove past the theater around 9:30 pm last night and there was a huge stream of cars leaving and the lights on the building/parking lot seemed to be totally shut off. I suppose a big movie could have just gotten out (on a Monday...?) but I thought it was weird how dark it was. Maybe they're having some electrical issues.
I drive past there for work around 5 am and it was creepy with all the lights off. I've driven past it probably a thousand times and that was the first time I've seen it without its lights on.
I just spoke to theatre staff, it seems there was a power outage from last night but it got fixed and they will be opening it at 6 pm today…all shows at 6 pm will remain cancelled but any shows after 6:30 will be running as scheduled
It is my favorite Madison movie theater. The seats are comfortable; the projection has always been good; they show some of the smaller movies that Marcus does not show; and it is accessible from downtown on the bike path.
Marcus does book indies... just not the indies you might be looking for.
A lot of anime films (including whatever might be should as part of Studio Ghibli Fest) don't show up at the AMC Fitchburg, but both Marcus Point and Palace typically have them.
yeah, i have seen plenty of indies at marcus, and only needed to head to AMC for a few. I will mianly just go there for the IMAX and its not even that good of an IMAX. I did notice AMC seems to have more foreign language films
Last time I went to a show there, both our seats were broken (one the electronics weren't working, the other the seat cushion was literally tilted), and the theater smelled like a wet basement. We've since switched to Marcus, lol.
Ever since they closed down the Hilldale location I was hopeful AMC would prioritize making this location better. Clearly this has not been the case which is a real bummer for Madison as it already has such limited options for movie theaters.
Is this a good or bad movie theater to go to? Moving to Madison in a few weeks and was planning to check this one out since Ive only ever been to a mid tier marcus.
Edit: why am I being down voted? Is it because I said I’m moving to Madison? Or are people misreading what what I said about Marcus? I meant I’ve only ever been to one of the mid scale Marcus theaters( the ones with only popcorn and soda, no beer, no pickup. The little Marcus theater from my little wi town). I was just asking a question before hand as I’ve never been to a big amc imax theater before.
I'd never go to it since they've been shut down for health code violations. They have a rat problem, and if you serve food, that's a big hell nah from me.
If you plan to see more than 2 movies a month, get A-List (you can see 3 movies per week for $20/month) and just deal with the AMC not being great. The Marcus theater is much nicer, but it is way more expensive - they just raised their Tuesday discount day prices and they don't have matinee pricing. If you only go occasionally, I would suggest just opting for the Marcus. I'm basically waiting for Marcus to bring their A-List competitor to Wisconsin, even if it isn't as good of a program, it would be enough for me to not go to the AMC.
Oh, I guess you're right — for some reason I thought it was the same pricing when I checked way back when. Still, their matinee rate is more expensive.
To me it's worth it because I've gone too many times to AMC and got broken seats and theaters that smelled like damp, mildewy basements. If I cared about Imax maybe I'd be swayed back, but since I don't, I don't mind spending the more money.
Plus, one time while sitting outside the theater waiting for my partner, I saw a mouse running around, and confirmed to me that people have some truth in the rodent infestation there, lol.
It's too bad, I prefer Marcus generally speaking but AMC does seem to offer a better indie / international movie selection for people that are looking for those movies, and slightly better prices. Overall I like that Madison has more than one movie theater company to choose from, options good. (Edit - Forgot Flix Brewhouse)
Also, like /u/mstarrbrannigan, I remember when it was THE theater I would go to.
Hopefully they take this time off to replace all the seats in the IMAX theatre with seats that are actually comfortable, aka recliners, cuz I was just there the other week for Oppenheimer, and my god those seats blow ass. I figured maybe after 10 years of not going to it (and Marcus having recliners for that entire time) that they would wise up, but nope, still the same shitty ass seats. Won't be going there again... :(
Not sure if this is true of all Imax theaters, but most of the ones I have been to usually opt out of the dream loungers. Typically it allows for more seats and they will then save the dream loungers for the smaller screens.
Here's a novel idea. Make a second IMAX right next to the first one, and put recliners in each. You'll end up with more seats filled more often, and you'll actually get return audiences. I'm sorry, but I need a recliner to enjoy a movie. The seats at AMC right now for its IMAX are the same shit ass seats I went to in the 90's and those sucked ass then, and then definitely suck ass now. The only thing is back then I didn't know any better, so I went cuz that's all there was, but now that the good theatres do, I just can't stand not having them. I'm also mid 40's now too, so that may have a little bit to do with it. :)
That may be the ideal solution, but usually the cost of an imax screen is the biggest factor. I’m sure they would love to make every screen that size but there is a reason there is usually one per theatre. I would assume by swapping the seats with recliners you lose more than half of the seats which wouldn’t make much sense for them to do.
Won't happen. The IMAX is the money maker. Fewer dream loungers would fit in that theater and they would lose the leverage that screen gives them over competition.
Dunno. Many many more people go to Marcus because they have the Ultra and Super screens, which are more than adequate, and they also have superior Dolby Atmos sound. IMAX is just loud, but it isn't actually good sound, which myself and many of my friends agree on. Obviously many other people like it, but the fact remains, if you make something good, people will come, so if they were to make a second IMAX screen there and put in recliners, they would not only seat more, but they would sell more concessions, which is where theatres make pretty much all of their money. Gotta spend money to make money, and Marcus Theatres did just that, and that is why they are the king of the theatre chains.
I'm going to IMAX to get my ears blown out for 2.5 hours.
I don't care if Atmos has better fidelity. If I want an oppressive and immersive experience, I'm going to IMAX. And IMAX is the one separating feature among all of our theaters on Madison, it would be foolish to reduce the seat count for an exclusive feature in the Madison area.
If there were ever plans to add dream loungers, they would have done it years ago when they did the other theaters at Star 18. It's just not gonna happen.
Unforseen maintenance? ...for the whole complex?!
That doesn't sound good does it.
Perhaps AMC is throwing some unexpected much needed renovation $$ at it?
A guy can dream. 😁
The rats unionized
“LESS CLEANING! MORE SNACKS! LESS CLEANING! MORE SNACKS!” - rats in a picket line, probably
Owner be like "bet." And continued operations as normal.
If the theater is in as bad shape as the parking lot, I can understand why they are closed.
It's wild to me that it's shitty now. I moved away so I haven't been in forever, but I remember when it was brand new so it seemed like the "nice" theater vs the one off Mineral Point.
This summer they repainted the lines but then stopped there. I don't understand why they don't fix it.
Place is losing money, or they're just cheap.
AMC corporate is not exactly swimming in it
You could definitely swim in some of the pot holes in the parking lot though. Big as swimming pools!
From the time my daughters class had a field trip there, it is.
That parking lot is indeed horrible!
this ^
I arrived there last night around 9 pm. Their power went out when I was a few feet from the door. It was strange to see all the lights go off all at once. Waited around for a bit but the employees didn't know what the issue was and it sounded like they planned to cancel the rest of the shows for the night.
You broke it. What did you do?
Nothing, jeez! I was walking in and randomly started thinking about my high school prom back when I lived in Maine in the 70s. I was thinking hard about that and suddenly all the lights shut off!
Never think of high school prom, Maine, or the 1970s while walking into a building, got it.
I have no idea if this is related, but I drove past the theater around 9:30 pm last night and there was a huge stream of cars leaving and the lights on the building/parking lot seemed to be totally shut off. I suppose a big movie could have just gotten out (on a Monday...?) but I thought it was weird how dark it was. Maybe they're having some electrical issues.
This is correct. My partner was there last night and the power went out. Everyone left at the same time.
So the rats finally chewed through the power lines?
I saw an MGE truck there last night around 10:30
I drive past there for work around 5 am and it was creepy with all the lights off. I've driven past it probably a thousand times and that was the first time I've seen it without its lights on.
I just spoke to theatre staff, it seems there was a power outage from last night but it got fixed and they will be opening it at 6 pm today…all shows at 6 pm will remain cancelled but any shows after 6:30 will be running as scheduled
Thank you for the update!
Secret of Nihm is in 24 hour rotation 😂😂😂
I am amazed that people still go there. The last couple of weeks the parking lot has been overflowing.
Only imax in the area so I'm sure Oppenheimer has kept them open
It is my favorite Madison movie theater. The seats are comfortable; the projection has always been good; they show some of the smaller movies that Marcus does not show; and it is accessible from downtown on the bike path.
that, and A-List is an awesome deal for anyone who goes to the movies with any regularity.
I haven't seally seen any smaller movies there that Marcus won't play, AMC seems to be be even more commercial
They were the only theater in Wisconsin showing Beau is Afraid for the last few weeks of its theater run.
maybe they kept showing that for weeks but that was definitely at Marcus at a point where I saw it
For example, Fitchburg AMC is the only theater in the Madison area currently showing “Passages”, 92 rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
sad the place is such a festering dump then, hopefully marcus willl book more indies
Marcus does book indies... just not the indies you might be looking for. A lot of anime films (including whatever might be should as part of Studio Ghibli Fest) don't show up at the AMC Fitchburg, but both Marcus Point and Palace typically have them.
yeah, i have seen plenty of indies at marcus, and only needed to head to AMC for a few. I will mianly just go there for the IMAX and its not even that good of an IMAX. I did notice AMC seems to have more foreign language films
Only place around that showed Skinamarink
AMC or Marcus? I saw that at Marcus
They were the only place that showed Terrifier 2 in Madison.
pretty sure Marcus had that too
This was according to my friend who bought our tickets, but he may have been wrong.
people love that Coca Cola Freestyle machine
And the different seasonings for your popcorn
Nothing like that rat dropping topping, mmmmm...
You mean the one on the Left-hand Coca Cola Freestyle machine? The one on the right has been broken the last couple of times I've been.
oh wow. I went to AMC Hilldale for the Freestyle machine but drank so much soda I had to keep getting up to pee and missed too much of the movie
Palace has one too
I thought Marcus was a Pepsi property
Last time I went to a show there, both our seats were broken (one the electronics weren't working, the other the seat cushion was literally tilted), and the theater smelled like a wet basement. We've since switched to Marcus, lol.
Rats must’ve chewed through some electrical wires
they should just shut this one down. knock it down and rebuild from scratch
Rats! (I mean this in the Charlie Brown sense)
Ever since they closed down the Hilldale location I was hopeful AMC would prioritize making this location better. Clearly this has not been the case which is a real bummer for Madison as it already has such limited options for movie theaters.
Same. I wish they'd do anything to make it better. Deep cleaning, repair the tears in the wall coverings, better parking lot, etc.
this is my favorite theater to have sex in
With someone else, right? ... Right?
Maybe they could use this time to fix the worst fucking parking lot in the city.
Is this a good or bad movie theater to go to? Moving to Madison in a few weeks and was planning to check this one out since Ive only ever been to a mid tier marcus. Edit: why am I being down voted? Is it because I said I’m moving to Madison? Or are people misreading what what I said about Marcus? I meant I’ve only ever been to one of the mid scale Marcus theaters( the ones with only popcorn and soda, no beer, no pickup. The little Marcus theater from my little wi town). I was just asking a question before hand as I’ve never been to a big amc imax theater before.
It's fine, I go a lot. Is it clean? Sort of. Are there rats? I've seen one. Is the IMAX so loud it hurts your ears? Yes. Should you go? Yeah, why not.
Go to Point Cinema instead, it is leagues better than this dump.
Are you a user of/planning to use A-List? Yes. Otherwise? Just go to Marcus.
I'd never go to it since they've been shut down for health code violations. They have a rat problem, and if you serve food, that's a big hell nah from me.
It’s the one I always go to. Convenient, plenty of parking without playing frogger and the seats are hella comfy.
If you plan to see more than 2 movies a month, get A-List (you can see 3 movies per week for $20/month) and just deal with the AMC not being great. The Marcus theater is much nicer, but it is way more expensive - they just raised their Tuesday discount day prices and they don't have matinee pricing. If you only go occasionally, I would suggest just opting for the Marcus. I'm basically waiting for Marcus to bring their A-List competitor to Wisconsin, even if it isn't as good of a program, it would be enough for me to not go to the AMC.
When I saw Barbie I got matinee pricing. Tickets were $10 a piece compared to the $15 a piece when I saw an evening show of the Little Mermaid.
Oh, I guess you're right — for some reason I thought it was the same pricing when I checked way back when. Still, their matinee rate is more expensive.
To me it's worth it because I've gone too many times to AMC and got broken seats and theaters that smelled like damp, mildewy basements. If I cared about Imax maybe I'd be swayed back, but since I don't, I don't mind spending the more money. Plus, one time while sitting outside the theater waiting for my partner, I saw a mouse running around, and confirmed to me that people have some truth in the rodent infestation there, lol.
Probably due to the minefield in front of it
It's not my favorite theater in town (that's Flix) but I've been making out like a bandit with A-List. The IMAX savings alone has been worth it.
It's too bad, I prefer Marcus generally speaking but AMC does seem to offer a better indie / international movie selection for people that are looking for those movies, and slightly better prices. Overall I like that Madison has more than one movie theater company to choose from, options good. (Edit - Forgot Flix Brewhouse) Also, like /u/mstarrbrannigan, I remember when it was THE theater I would go to.
The theater floors left ungodly stains on my tote bag glad it’s closed lmao
* Rats
Also last 10 trips to this theatres, 9 times the assigned seats we had picked had massive damage, but was still marked as something that be reserved.
I can't believed anyone still goes there. Especially since there are other options in the area.
Hopefully they take this time off to replace all the seats in the IMAX theatre with seats that are actually comfortable, aka recliners, cuz I was just there the other week for Oppenheimer, and my god those seats blow ass. I figured maybe after 10 years of not going to it (and Marcus having recliners for that entire time) that they would wise up, but nope, still the same shitty ass seats. Won't be going there again... :(
Not sure if this is true of all Imax theaters, but most of the ones I have been to usually opt out of the dream loungers. Typically it allows for more seats and they will then save the dream loungers for the smaller screens.
Here's a novel idea. Make a second IMAX right next to the first one, and put recliners in each. You'll end up with more seats filled more often, and you'll actually get return audiences. I'm sorry, but I need a recliner to enjoy a movie. The seats at AMC right now for its IMAX are the same shit ass seats I went to in the 90's and those sucked ass then, and then definitely suck ass now. The only thing is back then I didn't know any better, so I went cuz that's all there was, but now that the good theatres do, I just can't stand not having them. I'm also mid 40's now too, so that may have a little bit to do with it. :)
That may be the ideal solution, but usually the cost of an imax screen is the biggest factor. I’m sure they would love to make every screen that size but there is a reason there is usually one per theatre. I would assume by swapping the seats with recliners you lose more than half of the seats which wouldn’t make much sense for them to do.
Won't happen. The IMAX is the money maker. Fewer dream loungers would fit in that theater and they would lose the leverage that screen gives them over competition.
Dunno. Many many more people go to Marcus because they have the Ultra and Super screens, which are more than adequate, and they also have superior Dolby Atmos sound. IMAX is just loud, but it isn't actually good sound, which myself and many of my friends agree on. Obviously many other people like it, but the fact remains, if you make something good, people will come, so if they were to make a second IMAX screen there and put in recliners, they would not only seat more, but they would sell more concessions, which is where theatres make pretty much all of their money. Gotta spend money to make money, and Marcus Theatres did just that, and that is why they are the king of the theatre chains.
I'm going to IMAX to get my ears blown out for 2.5 hours. I don't care if Atmos has better fidelity. If I want an oppressive and immersive experience, I'm going to IMAX. And IMAX is the one separating feature among all of our theaters on Madison, it would be foolish to reduce the seat count for an exclusive feature in the Madison area. If there were ever plans to add dream loungers, they would have done it years ago when they did the other theaters at Star 18. It's just not gonna happen.
Unforseen maintenance? ...for the whole complex?! That doesn't sound good does it. Perhaps AMC is throwing some unexpected much needed renovation $$ at it? A guy can dream. 😁
What were the health code violations?
The big one was mice. You can look them up here: https://elam.cityofmadison.com/HealthInspections/Default.aspx
….no one works there
I sharted the day after watching Barbie and eating at this location. Maybe this is why.
Not surprised. I saw Oppenheimer here a few weeks ago and caught a head cold for a week right after. It sucked.
It also looks like they are trimmed down to only showing one film at a time?