The traditional movie theater has not changed much throughout the years, which is why Hollywood Palms in Naperville is looking to take the moviegoer through a cinematic journey that goes beyond just popcorn, candy and soda.  Enhancing the cinematic experience has never been the goal of the large theater companies, as most theaters have the same look and feel they did 20 years ago. Yet Hollywood Palms has created an environment that is unmatched and is sure to get even the most apathetic movie watcher off the couch and into the theater.

Hollywood Palms is the brainchild of owner Ted Bulthaup, who founded his first theater 18 years ago in Indianapolis.  In 2006, he closed down the location after an unceremonious breakup with the Indianapolis mayor and opened his second theater, Hollywood Boulevard, in Woodridge.  The Woodridge theater was so successful that Bulthaup began searching for a suitable location for his next Illinois theater, eventually choosing Naperville, just outside of Fox Valley Mall.

“The Woodridge theater has the highest attendance per seat of any movie theater in the country,” Bulthaup said. “It also has the highest revenue per patron and the highest revenue per seat of any theater in the country. I have every confidence that the Naperville location will be just as successful.”  The Palms will be in direct competition with AMC Cantera 30, one of the top theaters in the state in terms of attendance, located only a few miles north, and Kerasotes ShowPlace, an 18-screen theater three miles south in Plainfield. These successful theaters are no deterrent to Bulthaup, who has seen his Woodridge location grow in the double digits annually in spite of its proximity to the AMC Loews Woodridge 18 and the Cinemark IMAX, both just five miles away.  “Those theaters have lost about half of their business to me already,” he said. “What we’ve left them basically are teenagers.”

What separate Bulthaup’s theaters from typical cinemas are the numerous amenities which make the movie going experience more of an event than a simple night at the theater. Guests are seated in high-backed, executive-level desk chairs with plenty of leg room. Servers take guest orders from an expansive menu that ranges from Bubba Gump cheese shrimp, the Whoopi Goldburger, the Roger Rabbit vegetable wrap and Jurassic Pizza. “We put everything right in front of you,” said Bulthaup. “We’ll take your orders during the movie and we’ll collect at the end.”  Guests can also enjoy beer and other alcoholic drinks at one of the theater’s two bars, and tickets are only $8, more than $2 less than the AMC 30.

“The adults all come to our theaters and if they have kids, they come too because we’re a better value and they don’t have to worry about taking the kids to eat before or after the movie,” Bulthaup said. “They just bring them and grab them a hot dog or pizza and go home. So it’s very efficient.”

Beyond its myriad food and drink options, Hollywood Palms offers a visual experience that is unrivaled in the industry. The entryway is lined with real Florida palm trees; the box office is made of 200-year-old Afghan tribal columns and a thatched roof; the atrium, where the bars are located, is filled with lush jungle vegetation; and the main theater doors are King Kong-themed, elephant doors surrounded by palm trees and stone architecture.  Behind the main door is a 60-foot wide cascading waterfall that leads patrons to one of seven movie auditoriums, each with its own unique decorative and color scheme.

“No two auditoriums are alike,” said Bulthaup. “If you go to a 14-screen or 30-screen theater, the interior finish is all exactly the same.  Big deal.”

Each theater is themed, with no expense spared by Bulthaup, who hand picks its decorative items and installs many of them himself. The animation auditorium includes roughly 40 life-size cartoon characters ranging from Superman to Daffy Duck to The Simpson’s. 

The deep blue sea auditorium includes a 6-foot tall saltwater aquarium housing all types of tropical reef fish, while the walls, which are painted sea blue, are lined with aquatic species of all kinds, including sharks, marlin, swordfish, octopi, moray eels, orca and stingray.

There is also a Chinese, Mayan and Egyptian auditorium, as well as an Oscar room, complete with 6-foot tall Oscars and reels of classic motion pictures.

The final theater has a Wizard of Oz theme, built to replicate the witch’s castle, including flying monkeys, soldiers and life-size replicas of the Tin Man, Scarecrow, Lion and Dorothy.

“When they leave here, people talk about the theater as much as the movie,” said Bulthaup. “It’s amazing how the public embraces our theater, which is exactly why we’re going to be so devastating to our competitors at this location.  “When you go to a traditional cinema, no matter how good the movie is, when you walk out, you somehow don’t feel you got your money’s worth because of how much you spent for Milk Duds. Here, no matter how bad the movie was, you feel good about what you spent.”

The Palms will host Hitchcock festivals and Wizard of Oz festivals, as well as regular Rocky Horror Picture Show screenings. Its doors officially open on Thursday, Sept. 24, debuting with a special event featuring some of the most popular films of Oscar winner Richard Dreyfuss, who will be hosting the screenings, including audience Q&A sessions and autograph signings before each presentation.