AMC FINE-TUNES MEGAPLEX BY GOING SMALLER.

Byline: Dave McNary Daily News Staff Writer

AMC Entertainment, which pioneered and popularized the concept of massive megaplex moviegoing palaces, has signaled that bigger may not be better at future theaters.

AMC executives, in a conference call with analysts this week, disclosed the chain will most likely build 20-screen facilities instead of adding more of its landmark 30-auditorium complexes. The new megaplexes will probably contain 3,800 to 4,000 seats.

``For us, this is not a dramatic retreat but more of a strategy of right-sizing our theaters to the market place,'' said AMC spokeswoman Brenda Nolte. ``We have not abandoned the idea of a 30-screen theater but only in markets where it makes business sense. A lot of areas have filled up in recent years.''

AMC launched the era of the megaplex four years ago with the opening of the 24-screen Grand in Dallas, sparking a building program that included the 1996 openings of the 16-screen Promenade in Woodland Hills and the Ontario Mills 30. The complexes cost about $1 million per screen - double that of conventional multiplexes - and featured huge concession stands and auditoriums with stadium-style seating.

The megaplexes also often operated in direct competition with rivals, often leading to older theaters being closed or converted to discount operations.

AMC has generated impressive results from the newer theaters, producing a scramble by rivals such as Regal, Edwards and Pacific to offer similar but smaller facilities. AMC's movie houses have remained the largest, and the Kansas City, Mo.-based chain eventually opened 60 megaplexes with nine 30-screen plants, including locations in Covina and Orange.

Nolte said AMC executives also indicated that the chain plans to focus its efforts on building high-quality facilities rather than the largest plants. She also said a recent move by AMC to close six screens at its Olathe Station 30 in Kansas had been motivated by the need to take advantage of a favorable developer proposal to convert the space to restaurants. ``It was a unique opportunity,'' she added.

Entertainment analyst Kevin Skislock of Laguna Research Partners said AMC's change in strategy makes sense.

``Their management is pretty smart to admit that their approach may need some modification,'' he said.

The disclosures followed AMC's release late Tuesday of an earnings report showing a $19.1 million loss for its fourth quarter ended April 1 as losses grew more than fivefold due to the industry's difficulty in matching last year's performance by ``Titanic.'' Revenues rose 7 percent to $234 million.