Moon Theatres (Ontario, Canada)

Background:Moon Theatres was founded in 1962 by Harrison Chrysler (b. 1945, not Harrison Ford) who began to show exploitation films until 1966 when the chain expanded from one two-screen theater to two additional locations. The chain began in the small city of Port Burwell, Ontario, Canada at the address of 18 Robinson Street. By 1970, the chain had expanded to 3 locations throughout southern Ontario in addition to the original Port Burwell theater: two indoor theaters, one inside the Possum Lake Mall at 400 Simcoe Street in Possum Lake with two screens and one in Toronto with three screens at 18 Blue Jays Way, plus the Starlite Drive-In at 59 Green Mountain Road East in Stoney Creek. In 1977, the original two-screen theater was crowded with patrons flocking to see Star Warsin its opening weekend. The chain opened a new location at the Elgin Mall in Saint Thomas, ON, at 417 Wellington Street.

In 1985, the chain switched their beverages from Pepsi products to Coca-Cola products.

In 1987, as more and more people decided to see movies at larger multiplexes, the chain started to rise in prominence. Also in that year, the original two-screen theater decided to add pizza, ice cream, and milkshakes to its concession menu, which was so successful that all of the chain's theaters served pizza, ice cream, and milkshakes at their concession stand by 1989.

In 1988, the chain opened an eight-screen multiplex in a strip mall in Bond's Corners, ON (an unincorporated community east of Woodstock) at 68529 Dundas Street. A year later, they continued growing, opening three eight-screen multiplexes inMississauga, Port Asbestos and Rock Reef Point, ON. During the 1990's, the two auditoriums furthest from the lobby at Mississauga and Port Asbestos were twinned and in 1998, three screens were added in Port Asbestos. The three continue to operate as independent 10-, 15- and eight-plexes today.

In 1990, the growth continued, as another eight-screen multiplex opened in Breslau, ON, at 2290 Victoria Street North. Eight screens were added in the 1990's and five were added in 1998. It continues to operate with 21 screens. A year later, a 12-screen theater opened at 43200 Centennial Avenue in Saint Thomas, ON, which resulted in the closure of the Elgin Mall theater a year later. The Elgin Mall theater continues to operate as a Galaxy theater, while the 12-screen theater also continues to operate as an 18-screen theater.

In 1997, two new theaters opened: a 20-screen theater in Ingersoll, ON at 543891 Clarke Line and a quad in Possum Lake, ON, at the Possum Lake Farms Power Centre, with the address of 670 Broadway. Then in 1998, a 25-plex opened in Glen Meyer, ON. All three still operate as Galaxy theaters today.

A year later, 1999, a 21-screen theater opened at the White Oaks Mall in London, ON, at 1105 Wellington Road, that same year the Port Burwell theater was closed and demolished.

The Starlite Drive-In was sold off in 2001, the Bond's Corners theater was closed in 2003, the Toronto theater was closed in 2007, the Mississauga theater was closed in 2009 and reopened as a dollar theater a year later and the Possum Lake Mall location closed in 2010.

The chain continued to operate until the bitter end in January 2012, when Moon Theatres was bought out by Cineplex-Odeon, so now their policy trailer is used. Today, the former Moon Theatres have been receiving poor reviews on the internet.

On February 29, 2012, Harrison Chrysler died at 66. As a result, all former Moon Theatres closed the next day and then reopened silently as Cineplex-Odeon theaters on March 2, just in time for the release of The Lorax, ending nearly 50 years of the Moon Theatres brand.

Note: This company didn't use branded policy trailers unil 1978.

1st Opening

(1978-December 31, 1981)

TBA.

2nd Opening

(January 1-December 31, 1982)

Nickname: "Happy 20th Anniversary, Moon Theatres!"

Note: This trailer debuted Moon Theatres' most recent logo (a dark blue uppercase "MOON THEATRES" in a bold Century Gothic font).

3rd Opening

(January 1, 1983-1989)

Logo: We start with a time-lapse clip of a sunrise. A ticket stub with the Moon Theatres logo and the slogan "YOUR TICKET TO THE MOVIES!" flys in on an orange-purple gradient background and glows for three seconds.

FX/SFX: The animation in this logo.

Music/Sounds: An 80's dance-pop tune.

Availability: Extinct; no longer seen in theaters.

Scare Factor: Low.

4th Opening

(1989-1992)

Logo: On a CGI starry background, we enter a CGI hallway. We stop at several CGI plaques, these plaques contain each of the rules of the theater. We exit the hallway back into the starry scene, where the Moon Theatres logo and the slogan "Making Your Life Real Big" (in a Times New Roman font) appear and shine.

FX/SFX: The animation in this logo.

Music/Sounds: TBA

Availability: Extinct; no longer seen in theaters.

Scare Factor: Low.

5th Opening

(1992-December 31, 1993)

Logo: Same as the 1992 United Artists Theaters "Magician" policy, but all United Artists logos are replaced with Moon Theatres logos and mentions of "United Artists" replaced by "Moon". At the end, the slogan "Making Your Life Real Big" appears beneath the Moon logo.

FX/SFX: Same as the 1992 United Artists Theaters "Magician" policy.

Music/Sounds: Same as the 1992 United Artists Theaters "Magician" policy, but all mentions of "United Artists" replaced by "Moon".

Availability: Extinct; no longer seen in theaters.

Scare Factor:Same as the 1992 United Artists Theaters "Magician" policy.

6th Opening

(January 1, 1994-1996, June 2001-2005)

Logo: Same as the United Artists Theaters "Blade Runner" policy, but all United Artists logos are replaced with Moon Theatres logos and mentions of "United Artists" replaced by "Moon". At the end, the slogan "Making Your Life Real Big" appears beneath the Moon logo.

Variant: In June 2001, this trailer was strangely resurrected and was updated.

FX/SFX: Same as the United Artists Theaters "Blade Runner" policy.

Music/Sounds: Same as the United Artists Theaters "Blade Runner" policy, but all mentions of "United Artists" replaced by "Moon". Slightly modified in June 2001.

Availability: Extinct; no longer seen in theaters.

Scare Factor: Same as the United Artists Theaters "Blade Runner" policy.

7th Opening

(1996-1997)

Nickname: "AAAHH!! Real Monsters Policy Trailer"

Logo: Exactly like the 1996 National Amusements policy trailer, but "NATIONAL AMUSEMENTS" on the theater's marquee is replaced with "MOON THEATRES" in the Century Gothic font and the Art Gallery scene is deleted.

FX/SFX: The animation in this logo.

Music/Sounds: Exactly like the 1996 National Amusements policy trailer, but at the end, Gromble says "TIME FOR THE FEATURE TO START, EEEEHHHH!".

Availability: Extinct; no longer seen in theaters.

Scare Factor: Low.

8th Opening

(1997-June 2001)

Logo: Same as the United Artists Theaters "Odyssey" policy, but all United Artists logos are replaced with Moon Theatres logos and mentions of "United Artists" replaced by "Moon". At the end, the slogan "Making Your Life Real Big" appears beneath the Moon logo.

FX/SFX: Same as the United Artists Theaters "Odyssey" policy.

Music/Sounds: Same as the United Artists Theaters "Odyssey" policy, but all mentions of "United Artists" replaced by "Moon".

Availability: Extinct; no longer seen in theaters.

Scare Factor: Same as the United Artists Theaters "Odyssey"policy.

9th Opening

(2005-January 2012)

Logo: On a background filled with blue/indigo squares, we see a blue square with the Moon Theatres logo and "Making Your Life Real Big" slogan in gold. They shine, then move and zoom away as the squares behind it move away, revealing the stacked words, "FEATUREPRESENTATION"in gold on a heliotrope gradient background. After a few moments, it zooms towards us. Then it fades to black.

FX/SFX: The CGI squares moving away, the animation on the Moon square.

Cheesy Factor: The zooming effect on "FEATURE PRESENTATION" looks like cheap computer effects.

Music/Sounds: TBA

Availability: Extinct; no longer seen in theaters.

Scare Factor: None to low, the zooming in of the "FEATURE PRESENTATION" text can startle some first-time viewers.