| There are movie theaters all over the San José
area and in other large cities. Most of these theaters show
first-run movies usually within a month after they first are
released in the United States. Ticos are moviegoers.
Last year more than 3.5 million tickets were sold in Costa
Rica.
The Sala Garbo shows first-rate independent films with Spanish
subtitles. About 40 percent of all current hit movies shown
in the United States make their way to Costa Rica sooner or
later. You should not worry about understanding these movies
since they are all in English with Spanish, subtitles except
movies for children, which are usually dubbed. You can read
the local newspapers to see what movies are currently playing.
At present, admission costs about $3. Several theaters have
more than one screen. To find out what is playing look in
The Tico Times or any of the Spanish-language newspapers
such as La Nación. Information about movies
may also be accessed at http://www. entretenimiento.co.cr
(in Spanish).
In the Central Valley, you can experience everything from
old-time Paramount-style theater palaces to ultra-modern movie
complexes in suburban malls. The Cine Variedades, up the street
from the Plaza de la Cultura, is one of the oldest. The Cine
Magaly in Barrio La California, is a great theater for that
old-time big-movie experience. It has more than 1,000 seats
and second-story balconies.
Movies in English are Shown Here
The parent company of the Magaly runs other movie theaters
in the country. Cadena de Cines Magaly, or CCM, is the country's
largest chain with 42 screening rooms located all over the
country. They receive about 50 percent of the country's movie
viewers.
The Magaly theater chain has a movie theater with three screens
on the third floor of the new Outlet Mall in San Pedro. These
theaters show nontraditional foreign films and have state-of-the-art
DTS Digital and Dolby sound systems. You can purchase and
reserve tickets by telephone with a credit card. The Magaly
movie chain also recently opened several movie theaters at
Mall Internacional in Alajuela, the Paseo de las Flores and
Real Cariari shopping centers in Heredia, in Plaza San Carlos
and Plaza Liberia in Guanacaste.
In the 1980s there were about 125 independent movie theaters
in the country. Today there are 80 theaters with 73 belonging
to three major chains and found exclusively in large shopping
malls.
The first of Costa Rica's megatheaters was built in the San
Pedro Mall. It has five-screens and is located on the second
floor of the mall. The opening of this theater complex started
a new trend of multiple movie screens located in shopping
malls. The idea was to use the movie theaters to draw large
numbers of people to the malls.
The Real Cariari shopping center boasts a six-screen movie
theater. Cinemark is a U.S.-style movie theater with eight
screens at the Multiplaza mall, in Escazú. This theater
boasts a -top-quality digital sound system and tiered seating
. It is one of the best places to see a movie in the country,
and serves snacks and candies from the United States and even
hot buttered popcorn with real butter and free refills if
you purchase the large size. Cinépolis at the new Terramall,
on the highway to Cartago also has a state- of-the-art theater.
It boasts 15 movie screens, three of which have VIP rooms
with luxurious seats and George Lucas'THX technology.
San José is purported to have more theaters and theater
companies per capita than any other city in the world. Most
live plays are in Spanish but there are occasional plays in
English at the Costa Rican-North American Cultural Center.
The Little Theatre Group is Costa Rica's oldest English-language
acting troupe and frequently presents plays in English. However,
by going to plays in Spanish, you can improve your language
skills. Current plays are listed in the activities section
of local newspapers.
Movies (Cines)
Cinépolis .................................................................................
278-3506 Terramall
Cine Cariari (six screens) .........................................................
293-3300 Plaza Real Cariari, across from the Hotel Herradura
Cine Colonial 1 and 2 (two screens) ........................................
289-9000 Centro Comercial Plaza Colonial, Escazú
Cine Magaly ............................................................................
223-0085 Calle 23, Ave. Central/1 Barrio La California
Cine El Semáforo (alterntive movies) ......................................
253-9126 San Pedro
Cinemark (eight screens) .........................................................
288-1111 Multiplaza, Escazú
Cinemark (eight screens) .........................................................
224-8383 Multiplaza del Este, Zapote
Cine Variedades.......................................................................
222-6104 Ave. Central/1, Calle 5
El Observatorio.......................................................................
223-0725 Calle 23, Ave. Central
Internacional (four screens) .....................................................
442-6100 Mall Internacional, Alajuela
Laurence Olivier......................................................................
222-1034 Ave. 2, Calle 28
Liberia ....................................................................................
223-0085 Guanacaste
Multicines ...............................................................................
234-8868 San Pedro across from la Plaza Roosevelt and Kennedy
Park
Multicines ...............................................................................
592-3133 Cartago at Mall Paraíso
Multicines ...............................................................................
665-1515 Liberia
Multiplex.................................................................................
460-6733 San Carlos
Pérez Zeledón .........................................................................
772-8780 San Isidro
Plaza Mayor 1-2 (two screens).................................................
232-3271 Main Road, Rohrmoser
Plaza Occidente .......................................................................
447-7120 San Ramón
Sala Garbo ..............................................................................
222-1034 Ave. 2, Calle 28, 100 meters south of Pizza Hut Paseo
Colón
San Carlos ...............................................................................
480-9202
San Pedro Mall (five screens) ...................................................
221-6272 Mall San Pedro
Cinematec ...............................................................................
207-5732 Auditorium of the School of General Studies, UCR
Cine Universitario ...................................................................
207-4271 At the UC. Law School Auditorium
Cine en el Campus, Teatro Centro de Arte del CIDEA, Universidad
Nacional, 200 meters north of McDonald's, Heredia
Theaters (Teatros) in and around San José
Teatro de Esquina....................................................................
257-0223 100 meters south of the old Atlantic Train Station
Teatro Laurence Olivier ..........................................................
222-1034 Ave. 2, Calle 28
Teatro Arlequín .......................................................................
222-0792 Calle 13, Ave. Central
Teatro del Angel ......................................................................
222-8258 Ave. Central & Plaza de la Democracia
Teatro Melico Salazar ..............................................................
221-4952 Ave. 2, Calle Central
Teatro de La Aduana ...............................................................
223-4563 Calle 25, Ave. 3/ 5
Teatro Capra ...........................................................................
234-2866 Calles 29/33, Ave. 1
Teatro Chaplin ........................................................................
223-2919 Paseo de los Estudiantes
Teatro Máscara ........................................................................
255-4250 Calle 13, Ave. 2/4
Teatro Nacional.......................................................................
221-5341 Ave. 2, Calles 3/5
Teatro Giratablas .....................................................................
253-6001 Diagonal to Kentucky Fried Chicken on the road to
San Pedro
Teatro Tiempo.........................................................................
222-0792 Ave. Central/2, Calle 13
Teatro Eugene O'Neill.............................................................
253-5527 IN the Costa Rican-North American Cultural Center,
Barrio Dent
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