Cinemark is the coolest theater chain in the nation this week.  The Godfather will play in 55 Cinemark XD auditoriums for one night only on Thursday, March 1 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 1972 release.  The press release touts that the film print is “meticulously restored using 5.1 digital surround sound and re-mastered using state-of-the-art technology.”  I am very jealous of those of you located near a Cinemark XD chain.  However, The Godfather: Part II—my favorite in the series—will get the same treatment on April 19.  That’s enough time to plan for the 2-hour drive out to Hadley, Massachusetts.

You can check locations and showtimes at the Cinemark site.  Read the press release after the jump.

Just yesterday, Universal Pictures announced it would be releasing Brett Ratner’s Tower Heist to premium VOD subscribers a mere three weeks after the movie opens in theaters on November 4th. In direct response to this announcement, Cinemark (the nation’s third largest theater chain) has threatened to ban the movie from all 300 of its locations. This is a bold move that our own Matt Goldberg agreed with in principle, but didn’t expect to happen. As Matt mentioned, Tower Heist could potentially be a very successful film as it “has the stars, a sound comic premise, and it covers multiple demographics.” Will Cinemark really risk the tens of millions of dollars it stands to lose by taking a stand? Or will Universal Pictures blink first rather than risk losing the revenue?

Hit the jump for more info.