Emagine Entertainment bringing biggest movie screen in the state to Batavia theater

Batavia will be home to Illinois’ biggest movie screen as Emagine will open in the former Randall 15 theater in a few weeks.

Emagine Entertainment hosted tours of the remodeled theater May 10 ahead of its opening Thursday, June 1. President, co-founder and chairman Paul Glantz and CEO Anthony LaVerde accompanied the tours.

The former Randall 15 theater was purchased by Emagine Entertainment in the spring of 2020 and has been undergoing extensive renovations. The original theater was completely gutted, leaving just the exterior walls before rebuilding.

The lobby area of the new Emagine Batavia movie theatre, which will open to the public on June 1, 2023. (Sandy Bressner – sbressner@shawmedia.com)

Emagine will feature two private screening rooms, eight standard auditoriums, an EMX and super EMX for a total of 12 auditoriums.

The eight standard theaters range in size between 40 and 77 seats. The EMX auditorium will seat 184 people. The Super EMX will seat about 394.

The Super EMX screen will be the biggest movie screen in Illinois, measuring 94 feet wide by 50 feet high. The auditorium required an additional 13,175 square feet to be added to the building and is equipped with a 4K laser projection system and 70 speakers.

The Super EMX auditorium, designed to be the largest Cinemascope® screen in the state of Illinois, at the new Emagine Batavia movie theatre. The theatre will open to the public on June 1, 2023. (Sandy Bressner – sbressner@shawmedia.com)

Private screening rooms are available to rent for parties, movies and sporting events. Each screening room features a theater screen with 24 theater seats and space for dining and congregation.

All 12 Emagine theaters are equipped with stadium seating in heated, leather reclining chairs. The front row of each theater room will have “cuddle chairs” that seat two to four people.

Emagine President & Chairman Paul Glantz (left) and CEO Anthony LaVerde show one of the screening rooms at the new Emagine Batavia movie theatre, which will open to the public on June 1, 2023. (Sandy Bressner – sbressner@shawmedia.com)

The theater also features a High Roller Room that is available to rent for private events. The room features a private bar, arcade games, billiards, walls of TVs and four duckpin bowling lanes equipped with Spark augmented reality bowling.

The new Emagine Theatre in Batavia will feature a High Roller Room, which will include a full-service bar, shuffleboard, video games, pool tables and four Brunswick Duckpin Social® bowling lanes featuring Spark®, the first immersive, interactive scoring experience in the bowling industry. (Brunswick Bowling )

The new lobby will feature a full-service bar with high top tables and a lounge area with couches and a fireplace. It will have a full kitchen equipped with a brick pizza oven and extensive food menu that can be delivered to moviegoers seats in addition to traditional theater concessions.

Emagine will have a grand opening June 1 with special guest James Jude Courtney, an actor in the most recent “Halloween” film series. Guests will be able to participate in a Q&A and attend a screening of “Halloween.”

Eleven of the 12 theaters are expected to be functional on opening day. Owners said the Super EMX will open two to three weeks later.

Emagine Batavia and Batavia United Way will host a grand opening party fundraiser at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 31.

Guests will enjoy hors d’oeuvres, an open bar, photo opportunities, unlimited concessions, live entertainment and films. All proceeds from ticket sales will go to Batavia United Way to support its efforts in the community.

Tickets to the May 31 event are $65 and can be bought by visiting BataviaUnitedWay.org.