Spotlight Cinemas

Background: This company was started in 1954 as Regor Theaters in Connecticut and renamed Spotlight Cinemas in 1965. Apparently, in 1965, a teenaged boy from Springfield,Massachusetts named Ricky Spotlight approved use of his last name for this company (most likely because he was a frequent Regor customer). Today, it is owned by Time Warner's Warner Amusements (which was created in 1966 and includes this chain, Merrie Melody Theater Corp. and Townsville Theaters)and operates theaters in Argentina,Chile, Connecticut, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky,Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, the UK and Virginia.

The chain switched from Coca-Cola products to Pepsi products in 1968.

Note: This company didn't use branded policy trailers until 1969 It had planned on having one in 1967, but suffered similar financial problems to those of Merrie Melody Theater Corp. but was better than Merrie Melody Theater Corp. and about as less widespread as Townsville Theaters. Also, from 1975 to 1976, Spotlight Cinemas did not use their own policy trailers, instead using the Warner Amusements "Bicentennial" trailer.

1st Opening

(1969-December 31, 1974, January 1, 1977-1980)

Nickname: "70's Spotlight Filmstrip"

Logo: On a blue gradient background, we see a spark fly and form a filmstrip with clips of films in it. Then the filmstrip shows us the policy of the theater. At the end of the trailer, we see the Spotlight Cinemas logo inside the filmstrip and the words "Enjoy Your Feature Presentation!" below.

Variant:Starting in 1971, clips of films from the previous year were used in the trailer. Also in 1971, various Looney Tunes characters, as well as Snivy, Tepig and Oshawott, began appearing by the Spotlight Cinemas logo.

FX/SFX: The clips of the films seen in the filmstrip.

Music/Sounds: TBA

Availability: Extinct.

Scare Factor: Depends on the variant.

2nd Opening

(1980-1987)

TBA

3rd Opening

(1987-1991)

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Nickname: "The Marquee and Spotlights"

Logo: On a blue gradient background, we see spotlights and the Spotlight Cinemas logo with a Warner Amusements byline. Suddenly, the Spotlight Cinemas logo and byline fade into "WELCOME TO THE SHOW!" and the rules of the theater. After that, the Spotlight Cinemas logo and the text "AND NOW, OUR FEATURE PRESENTATION" fly in one-by-one.

Variant: A Spanish-language version of this trailer exists.

FX/SFX: The animation in this logo.

Music/Sounds: TBA.

Availability: Extinct; no longer seen in theaters.

Scare Factor: Low.

4th Opening

(1991-1992)

Variant: A Spanish-language version of this trailer exists.

5th Opening

(1992-1993, 1995-1998, 2003-2006)

Logo: On a black background, sparks write"WELCOME TO THE SHOW" in blue.The background turns green and the rules of the theater appear one-by-one. Afterwards, the Spotlight Cinemas logo, the Warner Amusements byline,Snivy, Tepig and Oshawott and the text "AND NOW, OUR FEATURE PRESENTATION" fly in one-by-one.

Variant: A Spanish-language version of this trailer exists.

FX/SFX: All the animation in this logo.

Music/Sounds: TBA.

Availability: Extinct; no longer seen in theaters, but this logo was seen on a bootleg VHS of The Powerpuff Girls Go Medieval (1996) from when it was still in theaters and also on a bootleg VHS of Yogi's Treasure Hunt: The Movie (1985) when it was re-released to theaters in 1996.

Scare Factor: Low.

6th Opening

(1994)

Nickname: "Happy 40th Anniversary, Spotlight!"

7th Opening

(1999-2002)

Nicknames: "Virtual Cinema", "The Virtual Spotlight Cinema"

Logo: Exactly like the 1995 Regal Cinemas policy trailer, but all mentions of "Regal Cinemas" and the Regal Cinemas logo are replaced with mentions of "Spotlight Cinemas" and the Spotlight Cinemas logo (with a Warner Amusements byline). Also, the last two parts of the logo show the roller coaster going inside a typical Spotlight cinema of the time and the Spotlight Cinemas logo and Warner Amusements byline on a blue gradient background is seen flying with "OUR FEATURE PRESENTATION" at a theater screen. Snivy, Tepig and Oshawott are also seen in theater seats.

Variant: A Spanish-language version of this trailer exists.

FX/SFX: The animation in this logo.

Music/Sounds: Exactly like the 1995 Regal Cinemas policy trailer, but the announcement has all mentions of "Regal Cinemas" replaced by "Spotlight Cinemas".

Availability: Extinct; no longer seen in theaters.

Scare Factor: Low.

8th Opening

(2006-)

MORE TBA!