O'ahu's "second city" is slated to get a second multiplex theater, giving Kapolei 31 screens and 6,000 seats for watching movies.

Regal Entertainment Group has tentatively agreed to open a 15-screen complex with 3,000 seats at the planned Kapolei Commons shopping center projected to open in 2009.

Kapolei got its first multiplex in 1995 when Consolidated Amusement Co. opened a 16-screen complex with 3,000 seats. At the time, it was the largest theater venue on O'ahu.

Since then, mostly in recent years, Kapolei has boomed with residential and commercial development, and expectations are for the region's population to grow to 129,000 by 2015 from about 84,000 in 2005.

Kapolei Commons is a planned 605,000-square-foot open-air mall anchored by a 160,000-square-foot Target store.

Developer MK Kapolei Commons LLC, a partnership of local firms The MacNaughton Group and Kobayashi Group, expects to begin initial construction work this month on the 47-acre site adjacent to Home Depot.

Besides Target and Regal Entertainment, other prospective tenants for Kapolei Commons have not been named. The mall anticipates having more than 100 tenants.

Regal's commitment is a letter of intent to open the multiplex at the mall. Dick Westerling, company senior vice president of marketing and advertising, in a statement said the Regal Cinemas Kapolei Commons Stadium 15 will include the latest digital projection and surround sound.

"We are proud to be a part of this exciting Kapolei Commons experience and look forward to offering a fantastic theater experience to our guests," he said.

Regal Entertainment operates 47 screens at four cinemas in Hawai'i — three on O'ahu, and one on the Big Island. The Knoxville, Tenn.-based chain entered the local market in 2004 with its acquisition of California-based Signature Theatres.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.