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Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Caribbean Cinemas Announces Grand Opening of New Sunny Isle Theaters

Caribbean Cinemas of St. Croix and the family of the late David Browne have announced the grand opening of a newly built cinema complex, centrally located at the Sunny Isle Shopping Center Annex, Estate Diamond, Christiansted. 

The inauguration of this new, self-standing cinema building with its own dedicated 200 space parking lot will be held on Thursday, March 9; the opening to the public will be on Friday, March 10.

This new state-of-the-art movie theater will feature Hollywood’s newest films on its eight luxurious stadium seating auditoriums with large screens fully equipped with 100 percent digital projection, 3D technology, high-definition surround sound, an arcade with video games, two party rooms to celebrate birthdays, as well as a Deli Café serving an enhanced dining menu.

One of the eight cinema auditoriums will be a Premium Large Format Auditorium — CXC (Caribbean Cinemas Extreme) — which will create an immersive experience for the patrons by providing a wall to wall and a ceiling to floor screen (almost four stories tall), in conjunction with over 50 speakers of Dolby Atmos surround-sound system.

More than a movie theater, Caribbean Cinemas of St. Croix will be an entertainment destination where children and families will be able to celebrate birthday parties in the party rooms and enjoy the latest in video games at the theater’s arcade. It is also envisioned that the cinema will be used for special events sponsored by the community, film festivals of locally produced films, and as a training ground for the youth.

Caribbean Cinemas was founded in 1968 in Puerto Rico by Victor Carrady and opened its first theater in the Dominican Republic in 1976. In 1977, the current chairman, Robert Carrady, joined his father, Victor, and began working for the company. The company’s first entry into the Virgin Islands was in 1988 with the acquisition of two existing cinemas on St. Thomas. Presently, the company operates the Market Square Cinemas on St. Thomas, which was built in 1997.

In this new venture, Caribbean Cinemas is also proud to be associated with the family of the late David Browne. David Browne operated two cinemas at the Sunny Isle Shopping Center under the trade name of First Run Films for many years.  The old Cinema at Sunny Isle Shopping Center near the Sunny Isle courtyard has now been replaced with the new Cinema at the Sunny Isle annex. Donna Browne, daughter of the late David Browne, will continue to run the new cinema as she did the old cinema. David Browne Jr., her brother, is the projectionist.

In 1996, Lorraine Carrady Quinn, also a daughter of Victor Carrady, the founder of the company, joined Caribbean Cinemas to run its real estate investment portfolio, following a career in banking. The commercial real estate portfolio, which is independent of the theater operation, consists of shopping centers, restaurants, retail stores, office tenants and government agencies. The Sunny Isle Shopping Center, which was acquired from the De Chabert family in 2005, is also part of this portfolio.

The company is very grateful to the V.I. Government for its help in making this project possible because without Economic Development Commission (EDC) benefits, the company would not have been able to build a new cinema of this caliber.

The Caribbean Cinema’s goal is to provide the best entertainment in the best environment by always incorporating the latest trends and innovations available in the theater industry. 

As part of the Opening Week schedule, Caribbean Cinemas will offer new releases such as “Kung: Skull Island,” “Before I Fall” and “Logan,” among others.  Movie show times will start around 5 p.m. on weekdays, and at 1 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.

For more information on opening hours and times, logon to www.caribbeancinemas.com/stcroix

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