Movie mania in Yuba City

Friday was a day for premieres in Yuba City — not only for movies but for their local home.

Thirty filmgoers were in line as the Mid-Valley's new and larger movie house, Cinemark Yuba City, opened at 10:20 a.m. Showtime was nearly an hour away, but for spectators the day's featured stars were the high-ceilinged lobby, the spanking new snack bar, the reclining theater seats — and leaving the old Movies 8 behind.

"I thought it would be exciting, knowing it would be nicer," 17-year-old Dayla Cook of Marysville said as she waited in the front of the line with her friend Davey Eaves. "The other place was nice, but this will be brand new — and it'll smell good inside."

Friday's matinee showings at Cinemark Yuba City gave Yuba-Sutter locals their first up-close look at the successor to Movies 8, still standing across the parking lot but slated for demolition early next year.

A private audience had received an early preview on Wednesday at the playhouse, where construction started eight months ago. The next night Movies 8, its tan-brick forerunner on Whyler Road, went dark for the final time after the credits to "Australia" rolled at 9:09 p.m.

For some in the 12-screen theater's first audience, the day came not a moment too soon — especially since its predecessor had been the last survivor among four playhouses that once served Yuba City and Marysville.

"I'm excited (Cinemark) got it here; we needed it," said Cheryl Reynolds, a Yuba City woman who watches movies nearly every weekend — but almost never in her hometown.

"We drove to Roseville all the time — even saw 'Mamma Mia!' with my granddaughter five times. For us to drive an hour each way, well, you know we've needed a new theater here."

In and out of the customers' view, cinema workers readied themselves for their first day at their new venue. Some pushed carts down the hallway bearing some of the 400 pounds of popcorn to be sold on the first day, while upstairs others spooled pizza-size spools of 35-millimeter film into the projector for Screen No. 6 — whose film, "Seven Pounds," would be the playhouse's first.

Though construction of the new theater took eight months, a Cinemark officer on hand for the opening felt as much relief as accomplishment — the result of City Council votes that had blocked theater projects away from downtown to support plans for a since-shelved 15-screen cinema on the town's east side.

"There's been so much history with trying to build this theater, a book could be written about it," Frank Gonzales, a marketing manager visiting for the occasion, said as he handed out gift bags to the first few dozen visitors in the theater lobby.

But for now, the project's pass could be forgotten in favor of enjoying a fresh start.

"This is a completely different scene from Movies 8," said Gonzales as he handed a gift bag to another visitor in the lobby. "The first thing people do is look up and look around and say 'Wow.'"

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Howard Yune at 749-4708 or hyune@appealdemocrat.com.