WAIKOLOA BEACH — With the click of a button on a smartphone or computer, Big Island moviegoers can reserve their favorite seats days in advance at Waikoloa Luxury Cinemas — a welcome new addition to Queens’ MarketPlace in Waikoloa Resort.
Originally scheduled to open Dec. 15, the theater ushered in moviegoers for their first showings late Friday morning. Customers came from as far as Hilo, as well as Hawi, Waimea and Waikoloa Village.
The 10,000-square-foot theater features three screens, two with 101 seats — one 3-D — and a third with 84 seats. Opening films are “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” and “Ferdinand.” “Star Wars” will run for three weeks and the animated comedies through Jan. 1.
“People no longer have to show up early and wait in line to get a decent seat,” Tony Dalzell said, who along with his wife, Maria, own the new business. “They can just show up when they want — before the show for a cocktail or at the last minute as the curtain is raising — and their favorite seat will be there waiting for them.”
Zach Var and Justin Duty drove from Hilo to see the first showing of “Star Wars: Last Jedi.”
“I’m a pretty big movie going person, and to be able to have a theater that has sofa chairs and a high-quality food system sounded like a fun thing to do,” Duty said. “We’ve already seen ‘Last Jedi’ but the screen itself here with the new projector will be brighter and more hi-res. I wanted to see it again to see what is going on here.”
Movie ticket prices vary by the time of the day. Adults are $15.50 for matinées or $18.50 after 5 p.m. Children and seniors are $3 less at both times, except for the first showing in each auditorium which is $12.50 for everybody, according to Dalzell. Tickets can also be purchased at the door if available.
Conceived three years ago, architectural work for the $5.5 million project began in February 2015. Permits were issued in July 2016 and construction began several months later. Dalzell used proceeds from sales of his past Southern California businesses to fund the Kohala Coast’s first movie theater.
The auditoriums are decked out with cushy 59-inch love seats for couples, complete with cup holders and tray tables. Single seats are also available.
Beyond popcorn, candy and soda, the theater has its own cocktail lounge and restaurant — Bistro at the Cinemas — that offers a variety of gourmet appetizers, entrées and desserts ranging from $6 to $18. Once a food order is placed, moviegoers can have the dishes delivered to their seats in the theater or dine before the show.
“We serve ‘fun food’ items such as nine different Neapolitan-style pizzas and eight types of gourmet tacos,” Dalzell said. “A hummus plate, bacon grilled cheese pretzels, salads and our specialty — the Keahole Lobster &Hatch Chile Mac-N-Cheese Burrito — are among the many unique items available.”
Upscale beverages range from local craft beers to wine, champagne, sake and tropical cocktails. A keiki menu offers food staples such as chicken fingers, hot dogs, cheese quesadillas, veggie sticks and fruit.
“One of the reasons that this entire operation is so intriguing is the opportunity to eat food other than popcorn while you’re watching a movie,” Var said. “Some of my friends on the mainland always send me pictures of the food they get at the movie theater. I’ve already sent them text messages and pictures of this place. It looks so beautiful.”
The theater also includes a covered, 5,000-square-foot outdoor lanai with seating for up to 100 people that can accommodate diners seeing a show or not. Four flat-screen TVs on the wall throughout the lanai display sports games. Locals can cash in on a 10 percent discount at the concession stand with Kamaaina Cards offered.
“It will hopefully become a destination in itself, with live music every night and affordable food and beverage options,” Dalzell said.
The Bistro’s pizza chef comes with more than 10 years’ experience at restaurants in California, and the food and beverage director, Max Rudberg, most recently worked at Four Seasons Hualalai. The cinemas’ general manager, Michael Trettin, was brought in from Southern California.
Approximately 50 local residents have been hired to work at the Cinemas so far. Of these, around 20 are full-time employees and the rest work part-time.
The Dalzells have visited the Big Island once or twice a year for more than 20 years, and three years ago saw the opportunity to open a movie theater along the Kohala Coast.
“There is no competition here. For the locals, they face a 25- to 30-mile drive to the nearest theater. For the tourists, there’s not much to do after dark,” he said. “Queens’ Marketplace had a space large enough to accommodate our theater.”
Dalzell hired Scott Stalcup as a theater consultant to help design the space.
“Scott is an architect who oversaw the construction of over 100 AMC cinema projects,” he said. “Because few, if any, local architectural firms have any cinema building experience, he was able to guide our architectural and construction teams on such things as acoustical considerations.”
In the future, Waikoloa Luxury Cinemas may also be open to rentals, concerts and live performances.
“Yes, we probably will, but not right away,” Dalzell said. “We want to see how the regular showings perform initially. We envision renting out the individual auditoriums and perhaps a portion of the lanai area for birthday parties, but not the entire outdoor space.”
Info: To reserve tickets go to https://hawaiicinemas.com or for questions call 464-3009.