The Cine Capri celebrated its grand opening on March 31, 1966.  The festivities began with the arrival of Charlton Heston, star of The Agony and the Ecstasy, the first movie to be shown in the new theater.

A youth drama clinic for high school drama students was held that morning in the theater auditorium.  It was followed by an afternoon reception for guests to personally meet Mr. Heston. That night attendees were entertained by the Scottsdale High School marching band outside the theater as they waited for the arrival of Charlton Heston.  Mr. Heston soon arrived in an open convertible and was then escorted to the theater entrance where he officially launched the theater with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

For the next 32 years the Cine Capri would remain one of the most popular movie theaters in Phoenix, showing such films as, The Godfather, True Grit, and, most notably, Star Wars.  It would be operated by several different companies, the last of which was the Harkins Theater chain, which assumed the lease in 1988. And while it was capable of continuing for many years longer, it was in the path of so-called "progress."