Harris Theatre Group, based in Oakland, Calif., also is negotiating for theater sites with 10 or more screens in Kaneohe and Hawaii Kai, Phil Harris, president of the family chain said on Friday.
"We specialize in larger market places that are either devoid of competition or where the competition ... is not serving the needs of the populace," he said. "In this case, the Pearl City area is dominated by a single competitor and we felt there was room for both (companies) to make a profit."
The new theaters will go into 42,000 square feet of vacant space at Pearl Highlands, which already has Sam's Club, Marshalls and Old Navy among its tenants. Plans are to have a total of 2,200 seats with the theaters ranging in size from 140 to 300 seats each, said Wendell Brooks III, of Chaney, Brooks & Co., the leasing agent for Pearl Highlands.
More than $5 million in improvements are expected, Harris said, with up to 35 full-time staff.
Harris Theatre now runs 48 screens in six northern California cities and is known as "being a builder of extremely high-end theater complexes," Harris said. Besides Hawaii, the company has plans to expand in California, climbing to a total of 140 screens in 24 months.
Entry of the family-owned chain, started by Harris' grandfather in 1940, will boost the number of movie screens on Oahu to 134. Consolidated Amusement Co. opened a 16-screen theater complex in Kapolei and a 14-screen facility behind Windward Mall last year for a total of 93 screens in 22 locations, and plans a 25-screen megaplex near Kewalo Basin by the end of next year.
Wallace Theatre Corp. entered the Hawaii market in 1992 and has 30 screens in nine locations on Oahu. It opened a nine-screen complex in Restaurant Row a year ago.
Asked his reaction to the new competition, Consolidated president Phil Shimmin said the Hawaii market has yet to reach a point of saturation.
"This type of growth is occurring all across the country," with interest especially in large complexes, he said. "More movies are being made and people are going more often. We want to offer more screens so they can go every hour on the hour."
The Pearl Highlands Center, meanwhile, has had problems in attracting both tenants and customers.
"When you add a major theater to any shopping center, you change the dynamics," Brooks said. "We will take advantage of the entertainment aspect and gear the marketing toward that complex."