Emagine Palladium to Usher in New Era of Moviegoing

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The old Palladium theater in downtown Birmingham will reopen on Oct. 2 under a new name and with a fresh look and new amenities.

The Michigan-based Emagine theater chain purchased the theater, located off Old Woodward at 209 Hamilton Row, and invested millions of dollars to add a casual-fare restaurant on the top floor, a full bar with delivery services and bigger, more comfortable seats, the Detroit Free Press reports.

The theater also has a new name, Emagine Pallidum, but only a fraction of the 12 screens of the old Palladium, which closed last year. The new iteration will have five screens and 540 seats, a fifth the number in the old theater.

“It’s going to be the best place to see a movie,” said Jon Goldstein, who owns theaters and is a partner with Emagine co-founder Paul Glanz, on the Palladium project. “If you go to the movies, you like to be treated well, and you want a first-class experience, there will be no where else in Detroit you will want to see a movie except for the Palladium.”

Memberships to the theater will be sold to households under a new concept that rewards loyal customers with special benefits, including advance ticket sales, preferential seating choices, discounts on shows and concessions, and a free ticket and meal on birthdays.

» Video screenshot via Emagine Palladium website.