Santikos Theatres is a movie theater chain based in San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...

. The company was started by Louis Santikos, a Greek entrepreneur, who had moved to Texas and immediately opened nickelodeons in the city in the early 1900s. His son John Santikos eventually took over the company and continued to create various movie theaters, including indoor multi-screen theaters and local drive-ins.

In 1987, John Santikos sold the company to Act III Theatres. John Santikos was able to buy back the company in 2001 due to the recession of 2001 that had affected the industry. It has expanded to seven local theaters and one outside San Antonio; the Silverado Station 19 in Houston, which opened in 2008 http://www.santikos.com/history.html.

Current theatres

• Rialto Cinema Bar & Grill
  • Previously known as the Galaxy 14, the theater was remodeled into a dine-in theater, with a full menu of entrees, dine-in tables in the auditoriums and a bar. The theater was originally split into two parts: the Rialto, which was meant for people 13 and older; and the Rialto Piccolo, which accepts children. The Piccolo is no longer in operation.

• Palladium 19 IMAX
  • Opened in December 2006 as a part of the Rim development in Northwest San Antonio at Loop 1604 and IH-10, it features 19 screens, including two "VIP" auditoriums for adults-only and an IMAX screen. With heavy Greek influences in its architecture, the Palladium also features an arcade room, a gelato
    Gelato
    Gelato is the italian word for ice cream and sorbet. Italians use the word gelato to mean a sweet treat that is served frozen. Indeed, gelato, just like ice cream, is made with Milk, cream, various sugars, flavoring including fresh fruit and nut purees....
    
     bar, a fully functional restaurant, and a mezzanine
    Mezzanine (architecture)
    In architecture, a mezzanine or entresol is an intermediate floor between main floors of a building, and therefore typically not counted among the overall floors of a building. Often, a mezzanine is low-ceilinged and projects in the form of a balcony. The term is also used for the lowest balcony in...
    
     bar. A 65-million-dollar investment, the Palladium was the largest theatrical development in the country in 2006, and it is currently one of the most profitable IMAX theaters in the nation.

• Silverado 16
  • Located at Bandera and 1604 in the Northwest region of San Antonio, the Silverado has 16 screens and was the first theater in San Antonio to feature Digital 3-D capability. With a Western theme, the theater also has a restaurant attachment called the Rough Rider Cafe & Bar.

• Mayan Palace 14
  • With a Mayan influence in its architecture, the Mayan Palace has fourteen screens and is located at in the Southwest part of San Antonio. The theater now features Digital 3-D and occasionally features Spanish-dubbed screenings of mainstream films.

• The Bijou Cinema Bistro
  • Built within the Wonderland (of the Americas) Mall at IH-10 and Loop 410, the theater was completely remodeled into a six-screen arthouse theater with dine-in seating. The menu offers regular concessions, such as popcorn
    Popcorn
    Popcorn, or popping corn, is corn which expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Corn is able to pop because, like sorghum, quinoa and millet, its kernels have a hard moisture-sealed hull and a dense starchy interior. This allows pressure to build inside the kernel until an explosive...
    
     or hot dogs, but also offers full-course meals and a modest wine list
    Wine list
    A wine list is a menu of wine selections for purchase, typically in a restaurant setting. A restaurant may include a list of available wines on its main menu, but usually provides a separate menu just for wines...
    
    . It features independent movies, foreign films, documentaries, and even NC-17 and unrated films. However, there have been circumstances where it showed a mainstream movie, such as Grindhouse
    Grindhouse
    A grindhouse is an American term for a theater that mainly shows exploitation films. It is named after the defunct burlesque theaters located on 42nd Street in New York City, where 'bump n' grind' dancing and striptease were featured.- History :...
    
    , Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, and The Dark Knight
    The Dark Knight (film)
    The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed, produced and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is part of Nolan's Batman film series and a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins...
    
    .

• Embassy 14
  • Built in the mid-1980s at Highway 281 and Bitters Rd., the Embassy 14 has finished a renovation process spanning two years, now featuring a built-in Starbucks
    Starbucks
    Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
    
     parlor and an overhauled interior. It is one of three Santikos theaters that have the "price extravaganza", where between 4:00 and 6:00 PM matinée prices are only $5.00. The theater now features a digital projector and began playing Digital 3D
    Digital 3D
    Digital 3D is a non-specific 3D standard in which films, television shows, and video games are presented and shot in digital 3D technology or later processed in digital post-production to add a 3D effect....
    
     films in May 2009. A recent shooting in mid-2010 took place, resulting in one teenager requiring hospitalization. The theater was later criticized for its lack of security.

• Northwest 10
  • The second Santikos theater located at the I-10/410 intersection, the Northwest is a 10-screen auditorium. An adjacent building called the Northwest Annex, which has four screens of its own, was temporarily shut down due to repairs, but has recently re-opened two of the screens. The company is planning to renovate the Northwest into a dine-in theater in the mold of the Rialto, though no development has started. It is the third Santikos theater to have the "price extravaganza" and currently has the cheapest prices for a matinée theater in San Antonio.

• Silverado-IMAX 19
  • The first out-of-city Santikos theater and the largest all-digital theater in the Houston area, the Silverado-IMAX features 19 screens, including an IMAX screen and six 3D equipped screens. It features many characteristics of the Palladium, including a restaurant, two mezzanine bars, and a game room. Also recently added in one of the larger theaters is D-BOX
    D-Box
    D-BOX Technologies is a Canadian company that produces motion simulation systems and control devices that work with supporting movie and game titles to provide motion to viewers...
    
    , providing moviegoers with motion-enhanced cinema on selected features. Located at HWY 249 near Tomball in Houston, the theater officially opened on February 29, 2008.

Upcoming theaters

• Granada 16
  • Located in the Potranco-1604 intersection in West San Antonio, the Granada 16 will be built in a style that alludes to the Spanish city of Granada
    Granada
    Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
    
    and will feature retail shops and a restaurant. The completion date is still unknown.

• Legacy Theater
  • In April 2007, it was announced that an eight-screen theater would be built at the retail development project the Legacy at 1604 and 281 in San Antonio. The Legacy itself is being made by Santikos Investments, a real-estate branch also supervised by John Santikos. It is rumored to be an art-house theater.http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/MYSA041807.02E.bizbriefs.297d9c7.html As of May 2011 the Legacy shopping center has opened, however the Legacy Theater has not begun construction and the company has released no comment as to the current plans for the Legacy at this time.