However, since the late 1990s, both sides have generally refrained from suing each other. The company started using the name "Century Theatres" in the early 1990s.Ĭentury Theatres has a long history of litigation against its much larger competitor, AMC Theatres, for alleged anti-competitive behavior. The first film presented at the Century 21 was It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World in 70mm format.Ī Century Theatres location in Oregon in 2011 The large orange metal ornament on the top of the domed-theater was functional in addition to being decorative-theater employees rappelled from it when the dome's outer track-lighting needed to be maintained. This image is bolstered by the lobby's distinct modern "bubbled lights" and metallic gold accents. The "Century 21" name was a tactic used to convey to the viewing public a "futuristic image". The screen was later replaced with a flat model, and has remained intact as a throwback to the domed Cinerama palaces of the 1960s. The Century 21 theater was built to showcase Cinerama type movies (the left and right empty projection booths are still present), but in fact, it showed only 70mm movies. The first Century theater was the Century 21 in San Jose, California, which opened November 24, 1964, adjacent to the Winchester Mystery House. The Century Theater chain was originally named Syufy Enterprises, for its founder Raymond Syufy, Senior, who built his first theater in Vallejo, California in 1941.