In 2024, The Movie Experience: Downtown Centre Cinemas in San Luis Obispo announced it had renewed its lease for another 20 years. Now, just a year later, the family-owned theater has rolled out major upgrades designed to give local audiences a top-tier movie-going experience.
Owner Bruce Sanborn, whose family has operated Sanborn Theatres for over a century, says the improvements are part of an ongoing mission to make the theater a go-to experience.
“What’s really unique here in San Luis Obispo is we have several family-owned theaters, and we’re all finding new and unique ways to get people back to the movies,” said Skye McLennan, Executive Director of the SLO International Film Festival and SLO Film Center.
McLennan was one of a handful to check out the new upgrades on Thursday.
The biggest upgrade yet? The installation of Dolby Vision + Dolby Atmos technology in one auditorium.
It's an advanced combination of ultra-vivid high dynamic range visuals and multidimensional immersive sound. This state-of-the-art setup is rare, found in just 13 theaters worldwide, and now for the first time in the United States, here in San Luis Obispo at Downtown Centre Cinemas.
“The vision part is amazing, colors and contrast. When you add that to an immersive sound system, you get an experience you can’t find anywhere else,” said Rob Schultz with R.S. Engineering & Mfg.
Before the projection and sound overhaul, the theater began its renovation journey by replacing every auditorium’s seating with luxury reclining chairs. Improvements are underway in all seven auditoriums, ensuring that moviegoers enjoy both comfort and cutting-edge technology.
While only one of the auditoriums has both Dolby Vision+Atmos, all the rooms will have Dolby Atmos.
Schultz, who helped build the theater three decades ago, returned to help shape its modern redesign. He believes the timing is perfect, as audiences are eager to return to theaters after years of at-home streaming.
“We’ve gone through that period of being hermits,” Schultz said. “Now people want to get back out of the house.”
The total cost of the renovations exceeds $3 million, but for Sanborn, it’s worth it to keep the big-screen experience alive.
“We do need the citizens in town to come experience this,” he said. “And then we want more of it.”
Sanborn says the next phase will focus on the lobby, concession stand, restrooms, and two front auditoriums, with completion expected within the next year.
With state-of-the-art technology, upgraded amenities, and a commitment to preserving the magic of going to the movies, Downtown Centre Cinemas is betting big that San Luis Obispo moviegoers are ready to return and keep coming back.
