Report: Heated seats at new Wayne theater

A new 12-screen movie theater at the Willowbrook Mall will have heated, reclining seats, according to breaking news in The (Bergen) Record.

The Record says that the seating will have “Luxury Loungers” that are electric-powered reclining chairs “with adjustable cushion warmers, cup holders and extendable footrests.”

The Wayne theater will be built at the site which formerly houses Sears Auto Center – a prime location in walking distance to the food court – The Record says.

The new Cinemark theater will have one “extreme digital” theater with a “floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall screen,” with “enhanced sound and a projector able to generate 35 trillion colors,”  The Record reported.

According to the report, there are only 144 other theaters like this in the United States.

These are exciting times for The Record’s Willowbrook mall bureau.

They covered Wayne Mayor Christopher Vergano cutting the ribbon at the new P.F. Chang’s at the mall nine days ago, and was the first New Jersey newspaper to pick up Twitter reports that the popcorn machine at the AMC Theater at the same mall “briefly overheated and caught fire” on January 7.

The fire “did not smell good,” The Record reported.

Competition on the Willowbrook beat is fiercely competitive.

The Star-Ledger and The Record both covered the announcement this month that International Popcorn in Totowa, near the Willowbrook Mall, now sells a Taylor Ham-flavored popcorn.    The Record wrote stories about International Popcorn in October, November and December of last year.

In August, the Record had the scoop on Buffalo Wild Wings’ decision to open a new restaurant at the Willowbrook mall.  One day later, the Star-Ledger wrote a heavily-detailed, well-sourced, bylined 283-word story on the same thing.