Cinema Brings 'Gold Class' to the Silver Screen

Dec. 10, 2008— -- The minute you walk in the front door of the Gold Class Cinemas in South Barrington, Ill., you notice that something is different about this theater. First off, you find a concierge instead of a ticket booth. Then, another surprise: tickets cost $35! It's cinema sticker shock.

Gold Class Cinemas boasts eight screens, but it looks more like a boutique hotel than a multiplex. And good luck finding the concession stand. The theater doesn't have candy, but it does have a bar, with treats that make your regular theater seem downright cheap.

"We have some beautiful Bollinger champagne," said Kirk Senior, the CEO of Village Roadshow Gold Class Cinemas.

Or you can check out the rest of the extensive wine list.

In case you haven't already figured it out, Gold Class Cinemas is not exactly following the current economic trend. At a time when those $10 or $12 tickets at the mall movie theater seem unaffordable, this place has decided to charge more than three times as much. Recession be damned.

"When people experience Gold Class, they realize what they paid for," Senior said.

Senior's company, an Australian media conglomerate, opened the theater near Chicago in October. They have another near Seattle and hope to open 50 more in upscale communities across the U.S. over the next five years. According to the company's Web site, Village Roadshow operates approximately 660 cinemas in four countries.

Senior is betting that -- despite the bad economy -- movie buffs will be willing to pay for the experience.

"We have a full-size commercial kitchen," he said, which means they can offer a menu more befitting a bistro than a movie theater, including calamari, crispy lobster rolls and even crème brulee.