THE NORTH AMERICAN 70MM PRESENTATIONS
Arguably, the very best cinemas in which to experience Raiders of the Lost Ark were those screening a 70mm Six-Track Dolby Stereo print. The vast majority of cinemas that played Raiders did so in 35mm, with the audio presentation being Dolby Stereo in some venues and monaural in the majority.
The following section of this retrospective features a reference/historical listing of the North American locales that showcased a 70-millimeter presentation of Raiders. Expensive to manufacture and produced in a limited quantity, the coveted 70mm Six-Track prints provided the highest-quality projection and audio experience available in 1981 and were generally booked to play large, well-maintained cinemas in high-profile markets.
Out of the 150+ first-run feature films released in North America during 1981, Raiders was among only seven to have 70mm prints struck for selected engagements. (The other six domestic 70mm releases during 1981 were Ladd’s Outland [x50], Orion’s Sharky’s Machine [x2] and Wolfen [x2], Paramount’s Dragonslayer [x3], Universal’s Zoot Suit [x3], and Warner Bros.’ Superman II [x12], plus UA’s second attempt at releasing Heaven’s Gate [x2], and re-releases of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty [x50], Fox’s Star Wars [x4] and The Empire Strikes Back [x30], and Warner Bros.’ House of Wax [x1]. Also, a wide-release expansion of Warner Bros’ Altered States [x40] commenced in early 1981 following a limited-market launch in late 1980 [x4]. As well, there were long-running and late-in-year 1980 titles still in release, plus any number of revival bookings of classic and popular titles available in 70mm. The Ladd and Orion titles were distributed through Warner Bros.)
Pictorially, the 70mm prints of Raiders were an optical enlargement (“blow-up”) from 35mm anamorphic and had an aspect ratio of 2.20:1. The Raiders 70mm audio was magnetic Six-Track Dolby Stereo. The soundtrack on the 70mm prints required format setting “42” on Dolby processors and was encoded with Dolby “A”-type noise reduction and featured three discrete front channels, one discrete surround channel plus “baby boom” low frequency enhancement on the two remaining channels. The fidelity and sonic clarity of the 70mm magnetic prints was superior to 35mm prints with an optical soundtrack.
Raiders was released June 12th, 1981 in a reported 1,078 North American movie theaters, with approximately five percent of those cinemas booking a 70mm print. There was a national sneak preview held June 5th (70mm only in LA & NY) and a series of invitational previews in numerous locales held in the days preceding the release.
The duration (measured in weeks) of the 70mm engagements of Raiders has been included in parenthesis following the name of the cinema in which they played. The 70mm bookings were among the film’s longest playing and highest grossing.
*broke house record for duration
**tied house record for duration
ALBERTA
- Calgary – Chinook (48*)
- Edmonton – Westmount Twin (48*)
ARKANSAS
- Little Rock – Cinema 150 (23*) [70mm from Week 14]
BRITISH COLUMBIA
- Burnaby – Lougheed Mall Triplex (48*)
- Vancouver – Vancouver Centre Twin (48*)
CALIFORNIA
- Corte Madera – Cinema (25*)
- Costa Mesa – South Coast Plaza Triplex (54*)
- La Mesa – Cinema Grossmont (58*)
- La Mirada – La Mirada Mall 6-plex (38*) [70mm from Week 17]
- Los Angeles – Chinese Triplex (15)
- Los Angeles – National (16)
- Montclair – Montclair Triplex (27*) [70mm from Week 23]
- Orange – Cinedome 6-plex (56**)
- Sacramento – Century 6-plex (27) [70mm from Week 5]
- San Francisco – Regency I (23)
- San Jose – Century 21 (25)
- San Jose – Century 23 Twin (10)
COLORADO
- Denver – Century 21 (25**)
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
- Washington – Cinema (25)
ILLINOIS
- Calumet City – River Oaks 6-plex (#1: 27)
- Calumet City – River Oaks 6-plex (#2: 1) [shared print]
- Evergreen Park – Evergreen Triplex (20)
- Lombard – Yorktown 4-plex (16)
- Niles – Golf Mill Triplex (15)
- Northbrook – Edens Twin (15)
- Schaumburg – Woodfield 4-plex (#1: 27*)
- Schaumburg – Woodfield 4-plex (#2: 1) [shared print]
KENTUCKY
- Louisville – Showcase 9-plex (57)
LOUISIANA
- New Orleans – Robert E. Lee (25) [70mm from Week 24]
MANITOBA
- Winnipeg – Northstar Twin (48*)
MASSACHUSETTS
- Boston – Cinema 57 Twin (27)
MICHIGAN
- Southfield – Northland Twin (27)
NEW JERSEY
- Paramus – Route Four 4-plex (28) [70mm from Week 4]
NEW YORK
- Levittown – Nassau 4-plex (27) [70mm from Week 4]
- New York – 34th Street Showplace Triplex (14*)
- New York – Astor Plaza (23)
- New York – Orpheum Twin (14)
- New York – State Twin (June 5th sneak preview only)
- Pittsford – Loews Triplex (27) [70mm from Week 5]
- Valley Stream – Sunrise 8-plex (15) [70mm from Week 4]
OHIO
- Dayton – Dayton Mall 4-plex (27) [70mm from Week 24]
- Springdale – Showcase 7-plex (27)
ONTARIO
- Scarborough – Cedarbrae 4-plex (25*)
- Toronto – Eglinton (25)
- Toronto – Runnymede Twin (25*)
- Toronto – Uptown 5-plex (3)
PENNSYLVANIA
- Philadelphia – SamEric (20)
QUEBEC
- Montreal – Imperial (26)
TEXAS
- Austin – Fox Triplex (27*) [70mm from Week 4]
- Dallas – Caruth Plaza Twin (42*) [70mm from Week 33]
- Houston – Windsor Twin (27) [70mm from Week 4]
UTAH
- Salt Lake City – Villa (53*) [70mm from Week 6]
WASHINGTON
- Tukwila – Southcenter (26)
The engagements cited above all commenced June 12th, 1981. It should be noted, though, that the lab was unable to complete the entire 70mm print order in time for an opening-day delivery, thus some locales contracted to screen a 70mm print commenced their engagement with a 35mm print and switched formats upon arrival of the 70mm print. In other instances, an exhibitor negotiated a mid-run switch to 70mm and received a fresh print or a print previously screened in another market. Note also that some of the presentations included in this listing (above and below) were presented in 35mm during the latter week(s) of engagement because of contractual terms or the booking was moved to a smaller, non-70mm-equipped auditorium within a multiplex or due to print damage and the distributor’s unwillingness to supply a 70mm replacement print. In these cases, any 35mm portion of the engagement has been included in a given entry’s duration figure.
