Reading Cinemas Grossmont Center

I don’t typically come to Reading Cinemas, but my bf wanted to watch the Hateful 8 in 70 mm and this was one of the few theatres showing it.
Pros: Theatre 1, which is where they were showing Hateful 8 is huge! The screen was ginormous, it was very wide and made for an awesome viewing in 70 mm. Seating is stadium seating, so even though I’m short, I don’t have to worry about someone tall in front of me.
Cons: Seating is not comfortable and very little leg room. The back of the seats are fixed, so you can’t recline or adjust at all. If you’re tall, you most likely won’t be comfortable (like my bf). The theatre in general is a bit on the older side and in need of some upgrades.

One could call this theater antiquated and perhaps even a little overpriced (concessions, no doubt) but it’s local and it has decent matinée pricing and get all the popular movies into their smaller theaters.
Additionally what really makes it worthwhile is the fact that it doesn’t draw the extreme crowds that more popular theaters do. So take a huge blockbuster movie like Star Wars: Episode VII, and within a week the crowds have died down significantly, resulting in not having to bang elbows with a bunch of people in a small theater.
The theater sizes are smaller than that of the more popular Edwards theaters and the theaters in Mission and Fashion Valley but I find them just as comfortable and as previously stated, less crowded which makes up for it.
I seldom go out to the theater and I really don’t find as much of a thrill going to the movies as I used to but overall this theater is comfortable enough, affordable enough and good enough to keep me happy.

We wait here on Christmas Day to see Star Wars six. The staff were friendly, the place was clean, and it was a good experience. I have come to the movies at Grossmont center for many years. And I’m sure I will be back again

I’ve been to this movie theater a few times now with okay results. I am not a fan of their seats, given they are not very comfortable for tall people like myself, but my brother likes it here, so meet him here when he wants to hook up for a movie.
The movie screen sizes are decent and offering Dolby Digital 3D and 2K Digital Projection. The sound system is pretty good with its Dolby Surround 5.1, but it was those chairs that I did not find comfortable. It was the head rest, that normally sits nicely on one’s head, but for me it bugged my lower neck and upper torso, so I had to slouch down into the chair to find a comfortable spot.
I usually do not eat from the snack bar, but my brother does, and he usually gets the salted warm pretzel and popcorn with good results. The staff was pretty nice at the ordering counter, but much nicer when and where they collect your tickets as you enter the hall leading in to the movie theaters. The Matinée tickets only cost $ 7.00 for the 2D version of the Star Wars Episode VI.
By the way, one thing I do like about this theater, they let you bring in outside food and don’t shake me down like Regal Cinemas do… No really.

PLEASE, if you see The Hateful Eight Roadshow, DO NOT SEE IT AT GROSSMONT! The entire film was out of focus, right from the test frame to the end credits. Three times during the second half, the lamp went out and the film stopped. On two of those occasions, the film melted on-​screen and flickered for 5 seconds while the shutter went back up to speed. There were disruptions in dialogue each time. I doubt the melted frames will be removed and will cause problems for following presentations. The manager, who was talking to someone complaining about the problems, was told «My projectionist said the film never stopped.» How did it melt, then? Same manager told me the film was intentionally shot with a fuzzy camera, thus it being out of focus. The credits, intermission tag, overture tag, the movie itself, and even the test frame were out of focus. The first half had periods where the film was jumping like it was either too loose or too tight in the gate, or where loops were threaded too big or small. The manager wanted to offer NO compensation to the man complaining because of the theatre’s inability to show film (the manager used the excuse as it being film for the poor presentation). They are charging 11 bucks for the morning show and 16 after. There are broken and loose armrests in the theatre and the seats uncomfortable. The manager and projection staff are inept and it shows. The last film I watched here was a sneak preview of Role Models some years ago, and that presentation was botched as well. They couldn’t even get the projector into flat format and stopped it twice trying to do so.

Went to watch a movie with the kids. We were told to upgrade our popcorn to save money on free refills. When the kids went back for their second refill, they were shut down and told that they only refill once. What a rip off. We came in early when all the lights were on and the seats were filthy. Probably won’t come back

Horrible service. Bought tickets on Fandango a week ahead of time. Waiting in line for an hour Sunday morning for entrance into the theater. When they opened the doors, customers with hard copy tickets were allowed in first. All the kids in costumes, moms in star wars tees and dads that bought ahead to ensure their kids could sit together were sent to to another line to get physical tickets. What an infuriating and awful way to test movie fans. Bad move! Fandago movie people, I would recommend going somewhere else!

I’ve been here many times to watch movies when they first open. It’s been great and enjoyable to get in fast to see the early show before noon. It’s a great deal. Food court nearby in the mall has lots of variety and it’s convenient grab some eats when you’re busy. Enjoy the show.

I know this is an old theater, but the staff have always been friendly and they try their best to keep the place clean. I’ve always been able to get a decent seat because it doesn’t get very crowded.

I’ve been here before and there’s not much special about this theater. But my boyfriend and I went here last night and I have honestly never received better customer service at a theater.
Angela T. was super nice and friendly and asked for a student ID so she could give us a discount on our tickets. Plus she was helpful with our popcorn and gave us a tip so we wouldn’t get butter on our pants.
I’ve been looking online for an email address or something to give her a formal compliment but I hope management sees this review and gives her special recognition because Angela T is an all star.

The movie theater is always generally clean, and the staff is somewhat friendly but sometimes limited staff in the early mornings during the week but that’s understandable.
Great price for the movies during the week before noon.

Great place to see a movie. The seats are very comfortable. Usually when I have an unpleasant experience at a movie, it is because of people making noise and has nothing to do with the theater or staff.

Runs all the current Hollywood offerings. Generally pretty clean. Staff is friendly. Prices are high, but in line with other cinemaplexes. A word of caution when watching a late showing –the parking lot is dark at night and there have been robberies in the past.

Not a bad theater. The employees are nice, the theater is fairly clean (for the most part) and it’s located in the Grossmount shopping area. The seats are comfortable and thankfully you don’t stick to the floors. Most times the theater area is cleaned right after a movie, but I’m not sure if it was because we went during a week day or what. This past time my boyfriend and I went to see Pixels. We were told to go to theater 7 and were quite confused to see Magic Mike XXL heading the theater we were walking into (there were a few other movie goers that asked us to make sure they were watching the correct movie). The seating area wasn’t cleaned from the previous showing (although, we did get there 30 minutes early due to the movie just being released that day) so I wasn’t sure if it was because they were busy or short staffed that night. The lady that came in to clean was shocked to see my boyfriend and I sitting in the theater, but she quickly cleaned up and left.
Most of the times I’ve been here to watch movies it’s been great and enjoyable. It was just this past time that I was a bit confused as to the condition of the theater. Still worth going here and watching something if you’re in the area.

It’s everything you would expect a movie theater built in the 90’s to be.
Early shows that begin before noon are only seven dollars which I think are a great deal.
The staff is nice and personable
The bathrooms are remodeled and look very nice but the movie theater seats are very worn.
Concession stands are big and available.
This place is good to see a movie, nothing fancy, a standard movie theater.

The customer service was good and it played the movie — for that I give it two stars. As for the rest of the experience, I’m just glad I only paid the nine something for the matinée — this theatre was probably amazing in the ‘90s — I can imagine that it may have been the first one with studio seating around — and then they haven’t updated anything since. The chairs are falling apart, they’re not just uncomfortable and creaky — they are literally falling apart. The screens are small, I like to go to the movies to watch action movies on big screens with huge surround sound systems — the screen I saw was small and the surround sound wasn’t all that great — in fact one of the speakers on my left crackled the entire time. If they’re not going to update this theatre they should just start showing older movies and charge like four bucks — it totally would be worth it then.

For a theater that has not been updated in years (or so it appears) this place is solid. Always has the most current movies in stadium seating fashion (seats don’t tilt back which stinks). The staff are always friendly and helpful. Common areas and restrooms clean. This is my go to theater when I am visiting my folks in La Mesa which is often… my favorite thing about it is it is never overly busy.

With movie prices going up so much over the years I don’t go to the movies often, at least not in this area and not at the theaters that charge over $ 10 for movies and 8.50 for a large popcorn. But I do get here once in awhile and have seen some good movies here over the years since it is the closest movie theater to me. If there’s a movie I want to see this is probably the one I will go to. Now that I’m a senior that drops the price down a little bit and their matinée prices are lower. The seats are comfortable, Stadium style with good visibility, you sometimes have to walk quite a ways to get to your Theater because there are so many, and I have seen no problems with the actual showing. The bathrooms were clean. The popcorn was very good. It was $ 13 for a large popcorn and large drink combo. That’s almost as much as my husband and I spent for a delicious meal for two at the Lunch Box earlier in the day!