History of Star Theater 20 Southfield

By the 1990s many moviegoers had thought of the movie theater experience as cutting edge, and for many looking back at the decade. The experience was balanced exceptionally well with independent films, the birth of modern blockbusters, and groundbreaking practical effects blended with early CGI. Many audiences could feel the experience of the cinema, that just a decade ago would have been nearly impossible. With the crowds these films would bring in the need for a state of the art theater was needed. While Star Theater had became famous since it’s creation in 1985 for its Jukebox styled theaters and premiere stadium style seating, alongside great service. With a great example of a early location being the Star Taylor 10. By the late 90s the cinema experience had expanded so far the need for flagship type locations was growing, and in mid 1996 the Star Theater brand decided to build that location for themselves in Southfield MI, with a plan that called for 180,000 sf of theater space, over the course of 20 theater rooms. The Southfield location marked the last of 3 locations the Star chain would build being bought by AMC in early 2006. With Star Great Lakes 25 in Auburn Hills (opened April 1999), the Star Fairlane 21 in Dearborn (opened May 2000), and the Star Southfield 20 in Southfield (opened June 1997) being the final 3. The Southfield location was much larger then typical Star locations before it, such as the Star Taylor 10 (Closed 2009, 2012) or Star John R 15 located in Madison Heights, MI (Still open). Both of these theaters featured the Jukebox look in the main lobby of the theaters, and were both built in 1989, serving as a strong foundation of the chain. By 1997 the chain had became the largest movie theater chain in Michigan, and while other competitors such as MJR had been around since 1980 operating out of the Main Art Theatre in Royal Oak, it wouldn’t expand into multiplexes until 1990 with the opening of MJR Adrian Cinema 10. It wouldn’t be until a year after Star in 1998 when MJR would too, build it’s own Megaplex Theater in Southgate MI, named the “MJR Southgate Digital Cinema 20”. What set aside Star’s Flagship location from others was its grand main lobby section, featuring movie themed designs built into the theater’s design, alongside a theme that blended the task of going to the movie and getting snacks and tickets into the design, a true example of just how much the chain had grown since its founding a decade and a half ago. When Star Southfield 20 opened in June 1997, many moviegoers ditched the classic multiplex theaters in favor of the newer flagship locations. Almost immediately after it opened Star Southfield 20 became an immediate sensation and became the most popular and highest grossing theater in Metro Detroit, and became one of the highest grossing theaters in the US, at the end of 1997, when James Cameron’s Titanic released. Alongside movies the theater also featured restaurants and a section called “The Comedy Zone”. Together the theater had 110,000 square feet of cinema space containing 20 screens and 6,000 stadium seats, alongside a 65,000 square foot retail and restaurant wing. The main lobby was meticulously segmented into three distinct, highly themed zones Hollywood Boulevard, Sound Stage, and Streets of Detroit. This spatial sequencing was intended to create a kinetic, visually stimulating pre-show environment that encouraged patrons to linger and generate secondary revenue through concessions and dining. When AMC took over the Star Theater brand in 2006, and installed AMC’s Signature Recliners, in a push to adapt to the new industry wide conversion to luxury recliner seating. This caused the theaters seating capacity to dip from 6,000 to nearly 3,000, due to the recliners requiring expansive rows with approximately six feet of aisle space. It was part of a larger push to prioritize comfort over numbers, with the rise of streaming services, which only grew more a problem into the 2010s. In 2020, when AMC temporary suspended all locations due to the COVID-19 pandemic the Star Theater Southfield was announced it would permanently close, it was cited as not the pandemic, but the lease that was set to expire. AMC in the years leading to the closure had began cutting locations that required high overhead costs, and theaters that required renovation costs that outweighed revenue. In 2022, Detroit based mega church Triumph Church lead by Reverend Solomon Kinloch Jr, entered into a land contract to turn the theater into a church, however by 2023 and into 2024 the timeline rapidly deteriorated, cited by post pandemic construction costs and supply chain issues. In May of 2024 the church bought the theater outright, but had to address a $33,000 overdue water bill, and with pushbacks in regards to the sale being tax exempt the church had many opposed to the sale. Today the Theater remains in a vacant state as the church builds the funds to overhaul the space into the church it will become one day.