By Lauren Young
Staff Writer
Movie-watching at the Oneida Movieplex has just been taken to a new level of comfort and relaxation with the installation of luxury plush, fully reclining chairs.
Moviegoers can now lean back and relax as they enjoy a premium recliner that features a powered push button recline mechanism and improved leg room for extra comfort. All nine auditoriums in the complex now boast reclining chairs, all installed less than a month ago.
Owner Conrad Zurich and his wife Linda, of Fayetteville, are professional film buffs and know how important comfort is in the theater experience.
“It’s like a private, more intimate-type of setting with plenty of spacious room,” said Conrad. “It’s a very pleasant atmosphere.”
While most original theater seats are 17 inches wide, Zurich said his theater’s new seats are 27 inches.
“Many times we’ll have a mother with a child both sit in one chair because there’s enough room for it,” he said. “These chairs are so nice we have them in our living room.”
Zurich said other renovations include finishing floor painting for each room and have also added aisle lights along the bottom of each cinema’s walls so moviegoers can find their way out without having the lights be too bright.
The Oneida Movieplex offers art films in addition to mainstream blockbusters and uses Sony 4K cinema projectors to show them.
Typical cinemas use 2K projectors said Linda Zurich, but 4K projectors, called the “Mercedes of projectors” by Conrad Zurich, are much brighter.
“It gives you twice as much brightness, and that’s very important,” said Conrad. “The Sony 4K is the best.”
In addition to the plush recliners and other upgrades, the Oneida Movieplex is also offering $5 movie tickets for all showtimes before noon, $5 tickets all day Tuesday and $1 small popcorn with each admission on Wednesdays.
“We are trying to take advantage of the good films coming out and the good seating and are hoping to get more people from Cazenovia and the surrounding areas to check us out,” said Conrad, who lives in Fayetteville, which is only about 20 miles from the theater.
The Oneida Movieplex is also only 20 miles from Cazenovia, which is the same distance as the Regal Theater in Shoppingtown Mall and closer than the regal Theater in Destiny USA — and the Regal Theaters do not offer the plush, reclining seats, he said.
Upcoming movies include, “The House With a Clock in Its Walls,” “Night School,” “A Star is Born,” “Halloween,” “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms,” “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” “Mary Poppins Returns” and “Aquaman.”
Visit the Oneida Movieplex at 2152 Glenwood Shopping Plaza in Oneida or visit its website at Movieplex.zurichcinemas.com.
