JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
A decades-long era at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph will come to an end Nov. 4, when the last movie is shown in the Taj Mahal theater.
Army and Air Force Exchange Service, which has run the movie operation since 1990, cited the digitalization of the film industry and declining attendance as factors in the decision to cease showings.
"The current plan is to stop showing movies due to the motion picture industry switching from 35 mm, which we have now, to a digital projection format," Kenneth Klein, JBSA-Lackland and Randolph Exchange general manager, said. "At some point, no 35 mm prints will be available."
Klein said converting existing equipment to digital is costly and not cost-effective considering attendance.
"We're not able to recoup our expenses," he said. "It takes 100 patrons per viewing to break even; at Randolph, we're running at about 35 per viewing."
The theater currently schedules movies Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons as well as occasional Saturday matinees.
Klein said the theater lost more than $7,000 in the 2011 retail calendar year, which ran from February 2011 to January 2012.
Klein said AAFES, which is closing theaters on other Air Force installations, has to "remain viable to provide dividends to Airmen."
"We would prefer being able to provide all services to all communities, but patronage doesn't justify this investment," he said. "The resources we have available are limited and we try to make the best decision where to invest capital expenditures and construction funds to the benefit of a community."
The theater, part of the original Taj Mahal construction project more than 80 years ago, was the site of the world premiere of the 1940 film "I Wanted Wings," which starred Ray Milland and William Holden, according to Ashley Armes, 12th Flying Training Wing historian.
The theater will continue to be used for commanders' calls and other events, including the annual Freedom Flyer Symposium, which features the stories of retired Air Force pilots who were prisoners during the Vietnam War. Next spring, the theater will be named the Fleenor Auditorium, in memory of Brig. Gen. Kenneth Fleenor, a freedom flyer who later served as 12th Flying Training Wing commander.