RICHLAND TWP., Pa. – The curtain is almost ready to rise on a new, state-of-the-art movie theater in upper Bucks County.
R/C Richland Crossings Movies 12, a 12-screen movie theater featuring luxury heated reclining seats, premium large format auditoriums (RCX), Dolby Atmos surround sound, laser projectors and other amenities, is set to open March 1 at 185 N. Blvd. West End in Richland Township.
The renovated theater in the Richland Crossings shopping center just outside Quakertown was previously home to Regal Cinemas, which closed in 2022.
“We are very excited,” said Scott Cohen, president and CEO of R/C Theatres. “We hope people like what we have there and come back again and again.”
Maryland-based R/C Theaters, which dates back to 1932, is a family-run company, with Cohen representing the third generation of the nearly 100-year-old business.
His daughters Shelby Gutowski and Samantha Cunningham also hold positions in the company.
R/C Theaters operates 13 other locations in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina, with the second newest location opening in 2021 in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
Pennsylvania has the largest number of R/C Theaters locations, including Reading Movies 11 & IMAX, Wilkes Barre Movies 14, Carlisle Commons Movies 8, Hanover Movies 16, Queensgate Movies 13 & IMAX in York and Gateway Theater 8 near Gettysburg.
Amenities at the Richland Township location will include all-luxury heated seating, premium large format auditoriums (RCX), an expanded snack bar offering more hot items, wall-to-wall screens, laser projectors, Dolby surround sound, 3-D digital projection of select films , online ticket sales and reserved seats.
Children (ages 11 and under), seniors (ages 60+) and active duty military will receive discounts, and the theater will also offer discounted prices on Tuesdays through a promotion called “Bargain Tuesdays.”
“We also have a family-friendly summer series that we do for six weeks,” said Gutowski, R/C’s director of business strategy.
“So on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings these weeks, we’re offering free or $1 screenings of popular kids and family movies. It’s an inexpensive way for families to come and see a movie. We also do other promotions and discounts throughout the year, including a holiday movie screening where we pick a weekend in December and show a holiday movie in the morning for $1 or free.
At Richland Crossings Movies 12, the R/C team focused their efforts on upgrading the auditoriums and the overall movie-going experience, with one of the biggest improvements being the installation of luxury oversized seats that recline and heat to match with the preferences of the guests.
The team also added larger screens – 7-8 feet wider and taller than the previous screens – and installed new laser projectors, which means “the colors are richer, the blacks are blacker and it’s more live experience,” Cohen said.
Two of the 12 theaters will be RCX, short for RC Xtreme, which offer an even more superior movie-watching experience with 4K laser projection, Dolby Atmos surround sound, a giant immersive screen and ButtKicker technology that allows viewers to feel the vibrations of their seats during intense movie moments.
“What ButtKickers do is in a movie like ‘Top Gun,’ when the planes fly over, you feel them,” Cohen said. “Or in a movie like ‘Jurassic Park,’ when the T-Rex walks around, you feel it. So it’s a more immersive experience.”
Auditoriums will vary in size, with a capacity of 65 to 150 seats.
Seats will be 100% reserved and guests will be able to choose where they want to sit by purchasing tickets online prior to the performance.
Tickets will also be available for purchase at the venue, but guests may not have as much preference as to where to sit and risk the possibility that their desired show will sell out.
As for the theater lobby, the R/C team found the original space to be in good shape and maintain much of its “retro look with neon lights,” Gutowski said.
The expanded snack bar will feature fresh-popped popcorn along with additional hot items such as bagels, nachos, pizza, burgers and hot dogs, Gutowski said.
Other concessions such as candy and fountain drinks will also be available for purchase.
The exterior of the movie theater was also in good shape, but the R/C team renovated much of the parking lot and added cosmetic improvements to the facade, including new paint and marquee improvements.
“Again, we’re the type of company that wants to spend money in the auditoriums,” Cohen said. “That’s what I’m selling – the blinding glow when the lights go out.”
R/C Theatres, whose motto is “don’t just see a movie, experience it,” dates back to 1932 when Cohen’s grandparents opened their first theater, the former Leader Theatre, in Baltimore.
Cohen has been involved with the company since childhood, when he and his sister would visit drive-ins to help assemble popcorn and pizza boxes and clean up the fields after shows.
The R/C name was incorporated in the 1960s, and the company’s expansion kicked into high gear in the 1970s when it bought several movie theaters in Virginia, Cohen said.
Virginia theaters still in operation include State Cinema 3 and Covington Movies 3, which have been part of the company since the 1960s and 1970s, respectively. These theaters have since been converted to recliners, but retain their small-town character and charm city.
“We’re not trying to be the biggest [movie theater company]Cohen said. “We just try to be very good at what we do, and every theater is equally important to us. We put a lot of time and effort into making them special and different.”
The film industry is still not operating at the levels it saw before the COVID-19 pandemic, but it remains strong and is “building itself back up,” especially with high-quality content that draws big crowds, Gutowski said.
“We’re not back to 100 percent full recovery — where we were in 2019 — but we’re getting there,” Gutowski said. “And what we and others in the industry are seeing is that people go to the movies, especially if there’s a great movie to watch. We saw this with the “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” phenomena. ‘Mean Girls’ is also doing very well.”
“Most people have kitchens in their homes, but they still want to go out to dinner,” Cohen added. “So when you offer something like what we’re going to offer at Richland Crossings, it’s a much different experience than what people have been used to.”
For the latest updates on R/C Richland Crossings Movies 12, follow the business Facebook and Instagram pages.
Movie and ticket information will be announced soon.
