Empire 8 opens, hopes to be the premier movie theater in Jackson

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Adam Friedman, Jackson SunPublished 10:29 a.m. CT April 15, 2019 | Updated 9:01 a.m. CT April 16, 2019

It’s eight screens, brand new, and it features one of the highest quality laser projector screens available to moviegoers in the nation.

Empire 8 Theatres opened Friday at 1511 Vann Drive. The 35,000-square-foot theater features eight movie screens, including one that has an NEC laser projector screen, considered one of the best movie projectors available.

“You get almost the best of what’s available in the country,” Phil Zacheretti, president and CEO of Phoenix Theatres Entertainment, said during the ribbon cutting for Empire 8 in Jackson. “There is not a clearer picture in the country.”

The theater featuring the laser projector is the crown jewel of the Phoenix Entertainment and Gary A. Taylor Investment project to build what they call a "first-class theater" in Jackson.

“We feel like this is the theater Jackson has deserved for a while,” said Paul Taylor, Gary A. Taylor Investment engineer-architectural designer. “We went the extra mile to make this thing as nice as possible.”

The laser projector theater, called the ETX, is the largest of the eight screens at Empire 8. It’s considered the deluxe theater, with love seat-style seating and an 11.1 surround sound system.

Empire 8 also will be the first movie theater in Jackson to sell beer and serve bar food together. The theater will have 12 beers on tap to go with a menu that includes hamburgers, pizza and, of course, popcorn. The theater also has an arcade in its lobby.

Empire will have first-run movies like "Marvel Studios' Avengers: Endgame," which premieres April 25.

“We think the numbers will work on a theater like this,” Zacheretti said. “We’re already selling out movies weeks in advance before we even opened. That shows the community has a lot of confidence in us."

Reach Adam Friedman by email at afriedman@jacksonsun.com or follow him on Twitter @friedmanadam5.