By G. Allen Johnson, Staff Writer July 9, 2025 San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco’s newest movie theater — and latest to fill the space at 1000 Van Ness — is open for business this week.
Tickets are now on sale for showtimes beginning Thursday, July 10, at Apple Cinemas Van Ness. The soft opening for the 14-screen venue, which Apple Cinemas Director of Operations Jessica Robitaille confirmed in an email to the Chronicle, includes “Superman.” The latest DC film from James Gunn is projected to be the top movie in North America on its opening weekend.
Also screening are holdover films “F1: The Movie,” “28 Years Later,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Lilo & Stitch,” “Materialists,” Pixar’s “Elio” and “Jurassic World Rebirth,” currently No. 1 at the box office.
This will mark the first time the smell of popcorn will fill the 92,724-square-foot space in the 1921-built Don Lee Building since it was vacated by CGV Cinemas more than two years ago. Originally built as an auto dealership, the building was converted into a cinema and retail space by AMC Theatres in 1998. The theater closed in 2019 before the South Korean-owned CGV Cinemas renovated and operated it from September 2021 to February 2023.
Apple Cinemas, a small East Coast-based chain that opened its first theater in 2013, signed a lease with the building’s owners, a partnership called 1000 Van Ness LP, in June. Robitaille told the Chronicle at the time that the movie theater will be state of the art, including one IMAX screen and, eventually, San Francisco’s first LED screen.
“I think San Francisco opens up a lot of opportunities,” said Robitaille, who noted the building’s historic architecture. “I think it’s really a fantastic space that we have to work with and we have big plans for it.”
Apple Cinemas co-founder Siva Shan told the Chronicle last month that “Every Apple Cinema is a luxury movie theater,” and that the company’s plans include adding a restaurant and bar, as well as recliner seats.
“The location and the (Van Ness) neighborhood is both a residential area as well as a commercial area, and we are very confident people will (embrace) us,” Shan said.
San Francisco’s newest movie theater is opening this week. Here’s how to get tickets
Greg
Quick and Dirty
San Francisco’s newest movie theater — and latest to fill the space at 1000 Van Ness — is open for business this week.
Tickets are now on sale for showtimes beginning Thursday, July 10, at Apple Cinemas Van Ness. The soft opening for the 14-screen venue, which Apple Cinemas Director of Operations Jessica Robitaille confirmed in an email to the Chronicle, includes “Superman.” The latest DC film from James Gunn is projected to be the top movie in North America on its opening weekend.
Also screening are holdover films “F1: The Movie,” “28 Years Later,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Lilo & Stitch,” “Materialists,” Pixar’s “Elio” and “Jurassic World Rebirth,” currently No. 1 at the box office.
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This will mark the first time the smell of popcorn will fill the 92,724-square-foot space in the 1921-built Don Lee Building since it was vacated by CGV Cinemas more than two years ago. Originally built as an auto dealership, the building was converted into a cinema and retail space by AMC Theatres in 1998. The theater closed in 2019 before the South Korean-owned CGV Cinemas renovated and operated it from September 2021 to February 2023.
Apple Cinemas, a small East Coast-based chain that opened its first theater in 2013, signed a lease with the building’s owners, a partnership called 1000 Van Ness LP, in June. Robitaille told the Chronicle at the time that the movie theater will be state of the art, including one IMAX screen and, eventually, San Francisco’s first LED screen.
“I think San Francisco opens up a lot of opportunities,” said Robitaille, who noted the building’s historic architecture. “I think it’s really a fantastic space that we have to work with and we have big plans for it.”
Apple Cinemas co-founder Siva Shan told the Chronicle last month that “Every Apple Cinema is a luxury movie theater,” and that the company’s plans include adding a restaurant and bar, as well as recliner seats.
“The location and the (Van Ness) neighborhood is both a residential area as well as a commercial area, and we are very confident people will (embrace) us,” Shan said.
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The Van Ness theater is Apple’s 14th venture and first outside of the Northeastern United States. The company has also signed a lease to take over the former Century Blackhawk Plaza in Danville, which should reopen by the end of the year.
The company is not affiliated with the Cupertino-based tech company Apple Inc.
Tickets for screenings are on sale at www.applecinemas.com and www.fandango.com.