Funny Girl: The North American Roadshow and 70mm
Engagements |
Read more at in70mm.com The 70mm Newsletter |
| Compiled by: Michael Coate | Date: 27.05.2023 |
 The following is a reference / historical
listing of the roadshow and 70-millimeter presentations of Funny Girl in
the United States and Canada. These were the first and best cinemas in which
to experience this motion picture.The presentations cited in the Part 1 section of this work were hard ticket roadshow engagements and were special, long-running, showcase presentations in major cities prior to the film being exhibited as a general release. Much like a stage production, these presentations featured advanced admission pricing, reserved seating, an overture/intermission/entracte/exit music, and an average of only ten scheduled screenings per week. Souvenir program booklet were sold, as well. The print types utilized during the films roadshow release, depending on the booking, were (1) 70mm (2.20:1 blow-up from 35mm anamorphic) with discrete magnetic six-channel stereophonic sound, (2) 35mm with discrete magnetic four-channel stereophonic sound and optical monaural sound, (3) 35mm with optical monaural sound. The Columbia release was directed by William Wyler (The Best Years of Our Lives, Ben-Hur) and starred Barbra Streisand and Omar Sharif. The world premiere was held September 18, 1968, at the Criterion in New York. Out of the hundreds of films released in North America during 1968, Funny Girl was among only fourteen given deluxe roadshow treatment and among only eleven released with 70mm prints (seven from 65mm origination and four blow-ups). PART 1: THE ROADSHOW ENGAGEMENTS (reserved seat policy / promoted 70mm presentations noted) Opening date YYYY-MM-DD locale cinema (duration in weeks) [notes] 1968-06-14 Milwaukee, WI Capitol Court (sneak preview) [70mm] 1968-09-18 New York, NY Criterion (72) [70mm] 1968-09-19 Boston, MA Cheri 1 (9) 1968-09-19 Boston, MA Cheri 2 (42) 1968-09-19 Boston, MA Cheri 3 (5) 1968-10-03 Montreal, QC Place du Canada (39) 1968-10-03 Philadelphia, PA Goldman (60) [70mm] 1968-10-03 Toronto, ON Fairlawn (68) 1968-10-09 Los Angeles, CA Egyptian (61) [70mm] 1968-10-10 San Francisco, CA Coronet (60) [70mm] 1968-10-10 Vancouver, BC Park (32) 1968-10-16 Chicago, IL United Artists (35) 1968-10-16 Dallas, TX Cinι 150 (17) 1968-10-16 Minneapolis, MN Academy (53) 1968-10-16 Pittsburgh, PA Fulton (10) 1968-10-22 Cleveland (Cleveland Heights), OH Severance (43) 1968-10-23 Atlanta, GA Capri (37) 1968-10-23 Denver, CO Continental (60) 1968-10-23 Des Moines, IA Riviera (31) 1968-10-23 Detroit (Southfield), MI Northland (61) [70mm] 1968-10-23 Indianapolis, IN Eastwood (34) 1968-10-23 Kansas City, MO Midland (58) 1968-10-23 Omaha, NE Dundee (54) 1968-10-23 Washington, DC Ontario (19) 1968-10-24 Houston, TX Gaylynn (36) 1968-11-06 Baltimore, MD New (33) 1968-11-06 Milwaukee, WI Capitol Court (41) 1968-11-06 Salt Lake City (South Salt Lake), UT Century 21 (29) 1968-11-06 Toledo, OH Showcase 3 (29) 1968-11-13 Portland, OR Paramount (28) 1968-12-16 Miami (Miami Beach), FL Carib (44) 1968-12-17 New Orleans, LA Robert E. Lee (45) 1968-12-17 Rochester, NY Monroe (48) 1968-12-18 Buffalo, NY Granada (52) 1968-12-18 Lawrence, MA Showcase 2 (27) 1968-12-18 Orlando (Casselberry), FL Seminole (23) 1968-12-18 St. Petersburg, FL Gateway Mall (26) 1968-12-19 St. Louis (Jennings), MO Northland (27) 1968-12-19 St. Louis (Mehlville), MO South County (23) 1968-12-19 San Diego, CA Capri (39) 1968-12-20 Oklahoma City, OK State (33) 1968-12-22 Louisville, KY Showcase 2 (24) 1968-12-25 Albany, NY State (26) 1968-12-25 Pittsburgh, PA Fiesta m/o (42 [52]) 1968-12-25 Providence (East Providence), RI Four Seasons I (1+) 1968-12-25 Richmond, VA Towne (19) 1968-12-25 Seattle, WA Uptown (48) 1968-12-26 Syracuse (DeWitt), NY Shoppingtown I (31) 1969-01-29 Akron (Fairlawn), OH Village (29) 1969-01-29 Moline, IL Sierra (26) 1969-01-29 Las Vegas, NV Bonanza Movie Palace (26) 1969-01-29 Phoenix, AZ Palms (36) 1969-01-29 Portland, ME Fine Arts (21) 1969-01-29 Worcester (Shrewsbury), MA White City (26) 1969-01-29 Youngstown, OH State (18) 1969-01-30 Calgary, AB Odeon (16) 1969-01-30 Edmonton, AB Avenue (21) 1969-01-30 Ottawa, ON Elmdale (22) 1969-01-30 Winnipeg, MB Kings (19) 1969-02-05 Grand Rapids, MI Midtown (26) 1969-02-05 Norfolk, VA Lee (1+) 1969-02-12 Cedar Rapids, IA Times 70 (26) 1969-02-12 Springfield (West Springfield), MA Showcase 3 (20) 1969-02-18 Columbus, OH Eastland (26) 1969-02-19 Cincinnati, OH Kenwood (35) 1969-02-20 Dallas, TX Granada m/o (35 [52]) 1969-02-19 Dayton (Riverside), OH Page Manor* 1969-02-20 Hartford (Newington), CT Newington I (38) 1969-02-26 San Antonio, TX North Star Mall II (24) 1969-02-27 Memphis, TN Paramount (23) 1969-03-04 Sacramento, CA Century 21 (32) 1969-03-05 Manchester, NH Cinι II (23) 1969-03-05 Washington, DC Cinema m/o (34 [53]) 1969-03-11 Madison, WI Esquire (26) 1969-03-12 Tulsa, OK Continental (30) 1969-03-26 Charlotte, NC Manor (26) 1969-04-02 Jacksonville, FL St. Johns (17) 1969-05-23 Atlantic City, NJ Center (23) 1969-05-27 Oakland, CA Century 21 (18) 1969-05-28 Orange County (Fullerton), CA Titan (30) 1969-05-28 Reno, NV Cinema (16) 1969-05-29 Fresno, CA Warnor (13) 1969-06-18 Asbury Park, NJ St. James (24) 1969-06-18 Chicago, IL Michael Todd m/o (17 [52]) 1969-06-18 Harrisburg, PA Uptown (15) 1969-06-18 Newark (Morristown), NJ Community (31) 1969-06-18 Spokane, WA Dishman (23) 1969-06-18 Utica, NY Kallet (12) 1969-06-20 Miami (Kendall), FL Dadeland Twin 2 (22) 1969-06-24 San Jose, CA Century 22 (47) 1969-06-25 Birmingham, AL Eastwood Mall (14) 1969-06-25 Eugene, OR Mayflower (12) 1969-06-25 Fort Worth, TX 7th Street (12) 1969-06-25 Knoxville, TN Park (12) 1969-06-25 Leominster, MA Searstown 2 (6) 1969-06-25 Long Island (Syosset), NY Syosset (31) 1969-06-25 Lubbock, TX Continental (14) 1969-06-25 Portland (Westbrook), ME Cinema I m/o (4 [25) 1969-06-25 Scranton (Edwardsville), PA Gateway (12) 1969-06-25 Springfield, IL Esquire (15) 1969-06-25 Wilmington, DE Cinema 141 (15) 1969-06-27 Trenton, NJ Trent (13) 1969-07-02 Houston, TX Gaylynn Terrace m/o (17 [53]) 1969-07-02 Peoria, IL Fox (1+) 1969-07-09 Canton, OH Palace (13) 1969-07-11 Fort Lauderdale (Hallandale Beach), FL Hallandale (14) 1969-07-16 Portsmouth, NH Civic (8) 1969-07-16 Santa Barbara, CA State (1+) 1969-07-25 Greenville, SC Astro II (9) 1969-07-25 Tucson, AZ Fox (8) 1969-07-30 Eau Claire, WI Cinema 1 (6) 1969-07-30 Lexington, KY Kentucky (8) 1969-07-30 Steubenville, OH Grand (4) 1969-07-30 Wichita, KS Sunset (16) 1969-08-06 New Haven (Orange), CT Showcase 2 (25) 1969-08-06 St. Cloud, MN Cinema 70 (5) 1969-08-07 Nashville, TN Martin (13) 1969-08-20 Austin, TX Americana (8) 1969-08-20 Cleveland, OH Colony m/o (7 [50]) 1969-08-20 Evansville, IN Washington (12) 1969-08-27 Fresno, CA Country Squire m/o (8 [21]) 1969-09-17 Honolulu, HI Kapahulu (14) 1969-09-24 Binghamton, NY Capri (13) 1969-10-01 Albuquerque, NM Fox Winrock (7) 1969-10-01 Erie, PA Strand (12) 1969-10-01 Raleigh, NC Colony (9) 1969-10-01 Reading, PA Fox (12) 1969-10-01 Rockland County (Nanuet), NY Route 59 (11) 1969-10-03 Windsor, ON Park (12) 1969-10-08 Ogden, UT Orpheum (7) 1969-10-15 Chicago, IL Cinestage m/o (9 [61]) 1969-10-21 Pleasant Hill, CA Century 21 (8) 1970-02-04 New York, NY DeMille m/o (3 [75]) [seats unreserved] (70mm?) * The Dayton booking ended during a newspaper strike and thus a duration figure cannot be accurately determined. It played between 26 and 33 weeks. The reserved-seat policy, in some instances, was relaxed during the latter weeks of the run. Any non-reserved-seat portion of the run has been included in the duration figure. The first roadshow presentations of Funny Girl held outside the United States and Canada were in the United Kingdom and commenced in January 1969. The first foreign-language presentations took place in France beginning January 1969. During the summer months of 1969, Columbia modified the distribution pattern and placed Funny Girl into a modified roadshow release whereby cinemas could choose to exhibit the film with a reserved-performance policy whereby moviegoers could purchase a guaranteed-seat ticket rather than a ticket to a specific seat. (Some cinemas opening the film during this periodnoted in the chronology aboveelected to use a reserved-seat policy.) By 1970 the film was placed into general release, playing the large roadshow markets again (but with continuous performances and standard admission pricing) along with playing smaller locales for the first time. In comparison to the roadshow engagements, the general-release presentations were (mostly) monaural, often shown several times per day, had regular admission pricing, featured a shorter running time, and, in some bookings, lacked the roadshow presentation components (intermission, overture, etc.). The films success during its limited roadshow run created momentum for what was also a successful nationwide general release. Funny Girl was the most-successful 1968 movie in North America, out-grossing Best Picture winner Oliver! and perennial favorite 2001: A Space Odyssey (both roadshows) as well as popular general-release hits Bullitt, The Love Bug, The Odd Couple and Planet of the Apes. (2001 ultimately out-performed Funny Girl through decades of re-releases and revival screenings.) And, judging from a combination of box-office performance and average engagement duration, Funny Girl was the third-most-successful roadshow musical of all time after The Sound of Music (1965) and My Fair Lady (1964). Funny Girl was also one of the few successful releases during the final years of the roadshow era, which came to an end in the early 1970s.  PART 2: SUBSEQUENT 70MM ENGAGEMENTS & SCREENINGS(second run / revival / unreserved seating) 1970-07-23 Chicago, IL Bismarck (7) [First time in Chicago in 70mm] 1978-08-23 Toronto, ON Science Centre 1979-03-06 Toronto, ON Cinesphere 1979-10-19 San Francisco, CA Market Street (1) 1980-03-27 Toronto, ON Cinesphere (4 days) 1980-07-29 Toronto, ON Science Centre 1981-10-02 Salt Lake City, UT Trolley Corners Triplex (1) [w/ A Star is Born] 1986-08-11 Atlanta, GA Fox [9th Annual Summer Film Festival] 1987-01-23 Detroit, MI Redford (2 days) This information has been principally referenced from film industry trade publications and regional newspaper promotion, with thanks to Raymond Caple, David Dennie (Norfolk Public Library), Sheldon Hall, Stephen Hubbard (Fargo Public Library), William Kallay, Karen (Dayton Metro Library), Bill Kretzel and Amber Lowery (Peoria Public Library). The films international roadshow/70mm engagements have not been accounted for in this work. If you believe this article contains any errors or omissions, please consider emailing the author or editor. |
More in 70mm reading: in70mm.com's page about films blown up to 70mm 35mm to 70mm Engagements by Year 35mm to 70mm Engagements by Title Presented on the big screen in 7OMM The Alleged 70mm Releases 70mm Blow Ups Which Never Were |
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