What's the latest theatre to close or open you have heard about?

[Allan Barnes]

PLEASE POST LINKS TO ANY AUCTIONS of CINEMA EQUIPMENT. THX.

[Vern Dias]

Regal Cinemas closes a favorite theater for Denver moviegoers




When I moved to Colorado in 1989, I fell in love with the Continental. It was literally my favorite place in the world. Sitting on the 5th or 6th row, the 78' wide D-150 would envelop me and transport me to other worlds.

The first movie I saw there was The Abyss (in 70MM). Four years later, I caught The Abyss: Special Edition (in 35mm) on the same screen. (Only two prints of the SE were struck, period.) A minute of footage was missing from their print (Bud swimming back to Deepcore after getting trapped in the crashed submersible with Lindsey). I asked theater employees to address the problem, but they only shrugged. Through a connection, I contacted James Cameron's brother Mike and told him about it. The footage was reinstated within a week.

As a single-screen theater, I watched the Continental suffer due to contractual obligations, where it was often stuck with a single title for weeks on end, and very few people in attendance. In the summer of 1993, they played So I Married an Axe Murderer for 87 weeks.

Then I rejoiced when Regal added on new screens without screwing up the original screen or auditorium. They didn't chop it in half. They preserved it!

Unfortunately, a few years later they made massive changes to the original screen and auditorium. My understanding was that digital projection (especially the initial 2k resolution) simply wouldn't hold up on a 78-foot-wide screen. The deep curvature was probably an issue as well. The new, smaller screen provided a decent big-screen experience, but it wasn't anything special. The last film I saw there was Dune. The configuration of the Atmos speakers was problematic. I heard ceiling sounds behind me that were supposed to be coming from something at the top of the screen.

The only film I ever saw in any of the added auditoriums was The Hateful Eight, in 70MM, on a small screen directly behind the original. Green light from the exit signs shone across the screen. I complained afterwards. Six years later (after watching Dune) I peeked in the auditorium where I'd watched H8. The green light was still there. I peeked in a bunch of other auditoriums. Every one of them (other than the main house) had green light shining on a screen.

Sadly, it seems that Regal got what it deserved with regards to the Continental. As the Vulture article pointed out,

So sorry to hear this. It makes me feel sad and even older, remembering when I did relief work in Denver.

The Cooper, the Continental (and the Village in Boulder) with their deep curved screens were my favorite theatres to pull shifts at, back when I was an IATSE member doing shifts as a relief projectionist, I remember running "Grease" at the Continental back in 1978.

[William Kucharski]

Damn it, the best theater left in Denver.

I guess I'm stuck watching home video now.

[Paul H. Rayton]

With Regal, while they're closing the place in Colorado (see Geoff Jones' post, above), another one is announced to open, one of the ex-Arclight venues, in Pasadena. It's a bit of a head-scratcher: Regal took over the ex-Arclight Sherman Oaks with a lot of hoopla about 2 years ago, and that one has been announced as closing [both previously reported in this thread], although as of today that venue is still open here.

Source article in Deadline: https://deadline.com/2023/04/regal-r...na-1235325022/



The former Arclight Pasadena in the Paseo Shopping Center Getty Images Regal took a beat from closing theaters, announcing today it’s entered a lease agreement with Onni Group to operate the former ArcLight theatre at The Paseo in Pasadena.

The 14-screen theater was shuttered by Covid in March of 2020 and never returned to business. Regal will be announcing details soon including promotional offers and an official opening date for Regal Paseo.

The Paseo development with, shopping and dining, “has long been the entertainment destination for Pasadena; however, since 2020, it has been missing one important element, a state-of-the-art theatre.” said Mooky Greidinger, CEO of Cineworld, parent company of Regal that is currently trying to emerge from bankruptcy. “In collaborating with our new partners at Onni Group, we are proud to be the new operators of Regal Paseo with exciting upgrades to the theatrical experience forthcoming for this destination location.”

Regal operates 6,215 screens in 457 theatres across the U.S. Parent Cineworld filed for Chapter 11 in the Southern District of Texas last fall and has been working through the process, including shutting some theaters and renegotiating leases on others. It’s closed about 50 locations since bankruptcy. A hearing is set for May 26 for the judge in the case to approve a restructuring plan submitted last week.

[Sam Chavez]

Sad to see that one close. Did a preview or two there back in the '80's. Also Century 21, a Mann house. And the Cooper. All now gone.

[Geoff Jones]

Regal Cinemas closes a favorite theater for Denver moviegoers

CENTENNIAL, Colo. — Three months after Regal Cinemas' parent company announced it would close 39 movie theaters across the United States, a popular location in Colorado has shut down.

As of Friday, the Regal Continental, at 3635 S. Monaco St., listed no movie showings going forward on the Regal website. A sign on its door says: "Thank you! It has been our pleasure to serve you at this threatre. Regal Continental is now closed."


This comes after Regal parent company Cineworld announced in September it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In January, Business Insider reported that the company would close 39 movie theaters in the U.S., which would help Cineworld save $22 million per year.

On the list of closures were Meadows Stadium 12 in Littleton and SouthGlenn Stadium 14 in Centennial. Both of those theaters were still open as of Friday.

But in addition to the Continental, the Regal Cinebarre Greenwood Plaza had no movie showings listed on the Regal website.

9NEWS has reached out to Cineworld and has not received a response as of this publication.


Credit: KUSA Related Articles

• Regal to close 39 movie theaters, 2 in Colorado

According to CinemaTour, the Regal Continental is the only Continental theater left of three that were built in the 1960s. It's known for its giant, 800+-seat auditorium and has been the site of numerous big movie premieres over the decades, from "Star Wars" to "Lord of the Rings."

Cineworld said on Tuesday it had filed a plan to reorganize its business and that shareholders wouldn't recover any funds. The company's stock dropped 36% on Tuesday to an all-time low, CNN reported.

Cineworld operates 747 locations in 10 countries, with 500 of those theaters in the United States including those under the Regal banner.

"The pandemic was an incredibly difficult time for our business, with the enforced closure of cinemas and huge disruption to film schedules that has led us to this point," Cineworld CEO Mooky Greidinger said in September.

When I moved to Colorado in 1989, I fell in love with the Continental. It was literally my favorite place in the world. Sitting on the 5th or 6th row, the 78' wide D-150 would envelop me and transport me to other worlds.

The first movie I saw there was The Abyss (in 70MM). Four years later, I caught The Abyss: Special Edition (in 35mm) on the same screen. (Only two prints of the SE were struck, period.) A minute of footage was missing from their print (Bud swimming back to Deepcore after getting trapped in the crashed submersible with Lindsey). I asked theater employees to address the problem, but they only shrugged. Through a connection, I contacted James Cameron's brother Mike and told him about it. The footage was reinstated within a week.

As a single-screen theater, I watched the Continental suffer due to contractual obligations, where it was often stuck with a single title for weeks on end, and very few people in attendance. In the summer of 1993, they played So I Married an Axe Murderer for 87 weeks.

Then I rejoiced when Regal added on new screens without screwing up the original screen or auditorium. They didn't chop it in half. They preserved it!

Unfortunately, a few years later they made massive changes to the original screen and auditorium. My understanding was that digital projection (especially the initial 2k resolution) simply wouldn't hold up on a 78-foot-wide screen. The deep curvature was probably an issue as well. The new, smaller screen provided a decent big-screen experience, but it wasn't anything special. The last film I saw there was Dune. The configuration of the Atmos speakers was problematic. I heard ceiling sounds behind me that were supposed to be coming from something at the top of the screen.

The only film I ever saw in any of the added auditoriums was The Hateful Eight, in 70MM, on a small screen directly behind the original. Green light from the exit signs shone across the screen. I complained afterwards. Six years later (after watching Dune) I peeked in the auditorium where I'd watched H8. The green light was still there. I peeked in a bunch of other auditoriums. Every one of them (other than the main house) had green light shining on a screen.

Sadly, it seems that Regal got what it deserved with regards to the Continental. As the Vulture article pointed out,

If a movie theater can’t perform its most basic function and deliver a sharp, well-lit image with the right colors and contrast, then we might as well knock it down and put up a bank.

[Martin McCaffery]

Crescent Theatre, Mobile, AL
https://www.al.com/life/2023/04/i-gu...r-is-gone.html

‘I guess that’s it’: Barring a last-minute miracle, Mobile’s Crescent Theater is gone

By

• Lawrence Specker | lspecker@al.com

The Crescent Theater on Dauphin Street in downtown Mobile has been a haven for film fans for more than a decade.Lawrence Specker | LSpecker@AL.com
Downtown Mobile’s Crescent Theater has been dark since a March 24 screening attended by a lone viewer, and barring the arrival of a white knight with about half a million dollars in hand, it appears the beloved venue’s 14-year run is over.

The single-screen, independent Crescent has had its share of crises since owner-operator Max Morey launched it in 2008. The nonprofit Crescent Theater Film Society was formed just a couple of years later to supplement its operations with donations and grants. In 2012, it took an $85,000 Kickstarter drive to provide the projection equipment the four-year-old theater needed to survive the industry’s inexorable transition from film to digital. In 2017, Morey issued an online call for $72,000; the drive’s success guaranteed the theater could keep going for another two years. In 2020, the Film Society raised $20,000 via GoFundMe to offset the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Like a cat, the venue always seemed to have another life left in it. In September 2022, however, the Film Society announced that the Crescent would be closing at the end of the month because the theater’s rent, which ticket sales and donations had barely kept covered, was about to increase steeply.

That prompted an effort by attorney Buzz Jordan and other potential investors to try to piece together a deal to purchase the property occupied by the Crescent. Not the whole three-story building at 208 Dauphin St., but the first floor containing the approximately 100-seat theater.

For the next few months, it appeared to be business as usual. In retrospect, that might have just been the time it took the last few grains of sand to run out of the venue’s hourglass. The day that probably was the Crescent’s last came and went with no fanfare, no last-minute pleas for donations. It was followed by the slow spread of awareness that the doors hadn’t been open for a while.

“I guess that’s it,” Morey said late Monday. “Coca-Cola’s on the way tomorrow morning to pick up the coolers. I think that’s it.”

Morey expressed frustration with the way negotiations had gone. So did John Switzer, the building’s Pensacola-based owner. So did Jordan.

“I made an offer, it was rejected, that’s all I could do on my end,” said Jordan.

Note: Jordan isn’t a newcomer at this. He previously bought another downtown landmark, the A&M Peanut Shop across the street from the Crescent. So he’s got experience running a legacy business whose fortunes are tightly linked to the ebb and flow of downtown life. “As downtown Mobile goes, the Peanut Shop goes,” he said. “I’m happy with it.” Mobile attorney Buzz Jordan stands with Deborah Gibson DeGuire inside the A&M Peanut Shop in downtown Mobile. Jordan recently struck a deal to buy the shop, a landmark in downtown Mobile since the 1950s, from DeGuire.
“I like Buzz, I thought Buzz made a strong effort, I think people didn’t want to support Buzz, I guess. I don’t know,” said Switzer. “But it’s going to be a sad day when that movie theater does close.”

Some of the points of dispute in play during the last six months sound like any real-estate negotiation: Fussing over offers and counter-offers, disagreeing on whether the AC needs an upgrade, trying to negotiate how building fees factor into a sale price, getting an appraisal and so on. But for Switzer, there’s a particular sticking point: He hasn’t collected any rent on the theater since the end of September, he said, and if the Crescent is going to continue, he wants $18,000 in back rent. So as negotiations have gone on, month by month, the price has gone up.

Switzer remains disgruntled by the Crescent Theater Film Society’s announcement back in September that the theater would have to close because the landlord was doubling the rent. He was raising it from $3,000 to $5,000, he said, so “doubling” was an exaggeration. And the jump, he said, was just bringing it up to fair market value.

“I tried everything in my power, that I was able to do, to keep that theater open, but I was constantly losing money, and bleeding, and hemorrhaging,” Switzer said. “They had been paying only $12 a square foot for the last four years, the Film Society. And the average square footage cost for commercial property in downtown Mobile is $18. They’ve been getting a sweet deal for the last 14 years. And of course, that sweet deal, I was their biggest donor. I was their biggest charitable donor and yet I got treated like a red-headed stepchild.”

“I had to borrow to pay my property taxes on that building,” he said. “Those rents normally would have covered a portion of those property taxes due in December.”

Hunter said that property rates can vary a lot from one type of business to another, so an average might be misleading. But she said she agrees without a doubt that Switzer deserves credit for keeping the rent below market value, particularly in recent years.

“He is not a bad guy for wanting to get as much rent as he can for his property,” she said. When he decided last fall that he had to hike the rent, she said, the price was too high for the Film Society, which opted not to renew its lease. Switzer’s decision to let the theater operate for months after that, rent-free, as negotiations continued was “remarkable,” she said.

Switzer has divided the building into three units subject to separate sale, condo-style, but says he’d happily take $1.805 million for the whole thing. At the moment, the upper residential floor is being rented; and the second floor, also residential, is under contract.

The magic number for the commercial space on the first floor is $540,000, he said, implying there was a little room for negotiation but not a lot. He’d had a couple of offers, he said – one from someone who wanted to operate a theater, one from a party who had other plans – but that neither had come to fruition.

Morey said he’d give the Crescent, meaning ownership of the business and equipment, to anyone who could afford the space.

“It’s doable,” he said. “If you buy the first floor, you get the movie theater for free.” (Once catch: You’d probably have to agree to keep Morey and his staff on board, at least for a while.)

Switzer said that April 18 is the day when he’ll tell Morey it’s over and the theater fixtures have to go. Morey will then have until the end of the month to remove them. Switzer would be as pleased as anyone to see a buyer emerge, he said, and he thinks a theater could do well in the space.

Morey, whose passion for movies has been on display in everything the Crescent has done for 14 years, certainly feels that way. He remains bullish despite everything: The transition to digital, the rise of streaming services, the impact of the pandemic. Max Morey has been a fixture at the Crescent Theater, sharing his passion for movies with patrons for 14 years. (Press-Register, Mary Hattler)Press-Register
“Let me say this,” he said. “The future for movie theaters is huge. There was around 5,000 screens [in the nation], there’s 3,000 now … But the future is beautiful for movie theaters.” The major studios are re-committing to putting quality movies in theaters, he said, so there’s more product in the pipeline.

“There is content out there,” he said. “Including Wes Anderson’s movie and Harrison Ford in ‘Indiana Jones’ and this movie ‘Air.’ The future looks wonderful for movie theaters. If anybody wanted to come in, they could really make a nice bundle in the future.”

“The studios are putting their movies back in theaters,” he said. “That’s a fact.”

“We were considered one of the most successful single-screen theaters in the nation,” Morey said. “By the studios, not by me. We made as much money as any other theater in town because of our patrons.”

“Thank you for the run, thank you Mobile,” he said.

Hunter said she’s still trying to come to terms with what the loss of the Crescent might mean for downtown. Its opening certainly had a powerful impact, she said.

“It has meant everything to downtown,” she said. “Fourteen years ago when they opened, there was no happy-hour scene.” People finished work and went home, she said, leaving little activity until the late-night scene fired up hours later.

The Crescent’s daily screenings provided a reason, rare at the time, to be downtown at 6 p.m. That became the seed of something that grew, Hunter said. Now you could have dinner or drinks before or after a movie. There was “an anchor for that shoulder time of day.”

“Slowly you saw a transition into that after-work scene,” she said. “It was very slow at first, but it grew.”

“I don’t know what the impact will be if it’s gone,” she said. “I haven’t really faced it.”

Hunter said that around 700 donors have contributed to the theater over the years. For many of them, she said, the Crescent wasn’t just a place to go, it was the hub of a community. “They’re devastated,” she said.

She’s trying to remain hopeful, she said. “You know, downtowns are always in transition,” she said. “They’re dynamic places. … There’s always something new.”

The Crescent’s website still lists Coming Attractions that might have been. “Air,” a Ben Affleck film dramatizing the culture-changing union of Nike and Michael Jordan. “Somewhere in Queens,” comedian Ray Romano’s directorial debut, with a cast that includes fellow comedian Sebastian Maniscalco. “Book Club: The Next Chapter,” in which Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Mary Steenburgen and Candice Bergen go to Italy; “About My Father,” a comedy that Maniscalco filmed in Mobile with Robert De Niro. And yes, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” The Crescent Theater is seen in downtown Mobile on Sept. 11, 2012. (Michael Dumas/AL.com)Michael Dumas
Those are might-have-beens. The Crescent’s last reel was something else.

Morey said that on March 24, the day Switzer told him he had to shut the doors, the Crescent was due to start a run of “The Lost King.” It’s the dramatization of a true story about an amateur historian’s efforts to find the burial site of King Richard III, which lead to a dig that finds his remains under a parking lot.

“It was in the projector, we had sold tickets,” said Morey, who then goes off on a classic Max Morey rhapsody: “The movie’s lovely, Steve Coogan and Sally Hawkins, and we waited and waited – I called IFC, that’s the studio, I called them almost a year ago and yeah, they said, ‘You can play it, Max, but we don’t know when we’re going to release it.’ And we waited a year and got it.”

And he had to close the doors. “So I closed them, but I was on the inside, and I sat in the front row and watched a movie by myself for the first time in 15 years and cried all the way through it,” he said. “I went and got a dispenser, a napkin dispenser. I’m eating my own popcorn and soda, crying my eyes out, and a wonderful movie by the way, stunning movie, and that was the end of it, that was the last movie we played, me sitting in there watching it. I mean, I went through the whole box [of napkins]. Very emotional. Very emotional. Big chapter in my life. Wonderful chapter.”

[Daniel Fredrickson]

Regal Nampa 12 (Nampa, ID): closed in late October 2022 before the big Regal announcement of closings

https://boisedev.com/news/2022/11/03...oses-for-good/

Village Centre Cinemas Airway Heights 10 (Airway Heights, WA): closed late Dec. 22 or Jan. 2023.

Anyone want in on an auction for a theater in a terrible spot? It was also up for sale in late 2020 while closed during the Pandemic.

https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/1011...e-WA/24360240/
https://bornhoft.com/our-listings/?propertyId=VCCAirway

[Harold Hallikainen]

https://www.wagmtv.com/2023/03/02/hi...tre-set-close/
Historic Houlton Movie Theatre Set To Close


By Corey Bouchard
Published: Mar. 2, 2023 at 4:13 PM MST HOULTON, Maine (WAGM) -

Movie Theatres across the country are struggling to recover from the pandemic and rising costs, Now, Temple Cinema in Houlton is the latest theatre to announce their closure. Newssource 8′s Corey Bouchard has the story

Charlie Fortier - Owner - Temple Cinema " I did a lot of stuff, as much as i could to keep it going for as long as i have”

Charlie Fortier, the owner of Temple Cinema in Houlton says he has seen a decline in attendance due to Hollywood’s focus on streaming services that started during the pandemic.

Charlie “we’ve seen a sharp falloff of attendance, people aren’t coming to the movies like they used to...Hollywood has been prioritizing trying to get people to go stream online so they’ve been releasing stuff closer and closer to the day its in the theatres but on the other hand they’re making us run stuff for more and more weeks”

In addition to declining attendance, Fortier says costs are going up, including the price of popcorn.

Charlie”Popcorn before all the bad stuff hit was $24 for 50 pounds and now its $39 for 35 pounds just as an example.”

Despite the challenges, Fortier is determined to keep the theater open as long as he can

Charlie”I looked at the numbers and decided I would try to keep going until june 29th if people keep coming to the movies, if theres even more of a dropoff we may close sooner than that”

Even though he can’t continue to run the business, Fortier hopes this isn’t the end for Temple Cinema

Charlie”The idea is maybe someone could take the place over, I’m just looking to cover costs, so if somebody wanted to run the theatre, i would lease it to them for what my costs are and they could run the theatre and hopefully make money”

Fortier expressed deep gratitude to the community for their support over the years.

Charlie” I’m deeply deeply grateful for the support of the community and for anybody that has ever bought a ticket here, I very much appreciate the 7 years I got to run the place and I’m very very proud of all the people who have worked for me”

The hope is that with enough support, the theater can continue to provide a place for people to come together and enjoy the magic of the movies for years to come, CB,NS8

[Harold Hallikainen]

https://www.9news.com/article/life/s...0-b2c2216cd83c

Colorado movie theater chain permanently closes

Colorado movie lovers are sharing their memories and sadness about the theaters' closure. Author: Alexander Kirk, Kelly Reinke (9NEWS)
Published: 5:05 AM MST March 2, 2023
Updated: 9:47 PM MST March 2, 2023

ARVADA, Colo. — Elvis Cinemas has permanently closed.

The Colorado family-owned movie theater chain announced the closure on its website and social media Wednesday.

"Elvis Cinemas has closed for good," Elvis Cinemas said in a statement.

"Thanks to everyone who was a part or was a patron for the last 23 years. We will miss all of you."

Elvis Cinemas had operated locations in Arvada, Littleton and in Denver on East Hampden Avenue.

While Elvis Cinemas had screened discounted second-run movies in the past, the company had switched to first-run films in recent years. The chain had been showing current Hollywood hits including "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," "80 For Brady," and "Knock at the Cabin."

Karolina Shiery worked at the Arvada location for almost a decade.

"From my understanding, the rent during COVID was not paid for. There was a complication and an issue there with the complex," she said.

Elvis Cinemas was known for selling tickets at low prices. On weekdays, adults could see a movie for under $10.

"I really hope there can be a future for an affordable theater," she said. "It was my favorite job. It was the only job I ever loved."

Movie lovers have flooded Elvis Cinemas' Facebook to share their memories and sadness about the theaters' closure:

"Thank you for making the cinema experience accessible and enjoyable for all of us, no matter our budget," said Joseph Perales. "You made so many memorable date nights, friend nights, and family nights memorable and I will be forever grateful for that! Thank you for everything."

"Thank you for all the movies I watched, filmed, and screened there. I will miss you guys," Zack Beins said.

"This is terribly sad," Eliz Dolcé said. "So many memories of my dad taking us here as a single parent. Thanks for providing a wonderful opportunity, especially for single parents on a tight budget. We will miss you!"

"Is there anything we can do to keep it open?" Debbie Abeyta-Pratt asked. "Possibly a GoFundMe? Elvis Cinema is a huge part of Colorado history. You will truly be missed."

[William Kucharski]

I'm sorry...did I just read that right? 2.9 gain scren providing "natural"... and "QSC 5.1 point-source sound system" Is this an advertisement for mediocrity? I'm not dinging on 5.1 sound but being the standard, it isn't something one can really brag about. And a 2.9 gain screen implies that their image sucks with a significant hot-spot.

To those who don't know anything it all sounds impressive.

Sadly what they had was very impressive and needed no significant changes; in particular they claim "enhanced programming" yet the theater ran both regular and IMAX Hollywood content regularly.

Now IMAX content will not be presentable, so as far as I know their big new screen will be limited to 4K DCP and whatever D3D magic they provide:

Ever since digital cinema has become a reality for giant-screen theaters, D3D has become an industry leader through the design and integration of digital theater systems in over thirty former IMAX® giant-screens and multiple new build giant-screen venues. D3D systems prove reliable in performance and help expand the utility of the theater with far reaching alternative content packages. Using a holistic and client centric approach, D3D delivers state-of-the-art system designs that are both operator and CFO friendly while providing an unforgettable audience experience.

https://d3dcinema.com/museum-cinema/

In short, museums used to be able to leverage IMAX studio releases and show them in their theaters; now it seems they will be limited to 4K and whatever D3D provides in their own format.

[Steve Guttag]

I'm sorry...did I just read that right? 2.9 gain scren providing "natural"... and "QSC 5.1 point-source sound system" Is this an advertisement for mediocrity? I'm not dinging on 5.1 sound but being the standard, it isn't something one can really brag about. And a 2.9 gain screen implies that their image sucks with a significant hot-spot.

[William Kucharski]

The Denver Museum of Nature and Science remodeled their theater during COVID.

It turns out they tore out their former IMAX screen and equipment and it is now a D3D Cinema Theater:

New Features include:

• A new, high gain 2.9 MDI Premium HGA silver 3D cinema screen, which will provide natural and immersive 2D and 3D experiences with projection system.
• The Infinity Theater has a new surround sound. A premium QSC 5.1 point-source sound system, putting out a combined total of 28,600 watts via 39 speaker drivers.
• New audio and visual accessibility features, such as a multi-channel surround sound, hearing induction loop and updated closed captioning system.
• New lobby entrance finishings which will be enhanced even further starting in 2023. Hint: Think lush forest!
• New concessions area offering popcorn, drinks and sweets.
• New laser projection system (see D3D Cinema) capable of crystal-clear imaging. The new laser projection system will be able to show both 2D and 3D films.
• Enhanced programming: In addition to documentaries, we will show Hollywood classic movies, independent movies, livestream concerts and performances, other multimedia shows and have the freedom to use the theater for a variety of other events.
• More sustainable finishings and procedures (examples include eye glass washing equipment and process, LED lighting, energy efficient projection system).

https://www.dmns.org/visit/infinity-theater/

[Rick Cohen]

Franklin Drive-In closes permanently, Franklin, KY, located north of Nashville, just over the TN state line.

Via Facebook: "Moviegoers, it is official the Franklin Drive-in has been sold and will no longer operate as a drive-in. This was a difficult decision for our family. Many of you may not know but this drive-in has been in our family for 33 years and we bought it from the original family who built it. We would have loved to keep it as a drive-in, but the location has changed so much since it was first built in the late 60's. There is so much more traffic and light noise and this continues to increase year after year. In addition to traffic and light noise many are now taking advantage of bringing 1st run movies into their homes so we are now competing with the very studios that make the movies and show them on their own streaming services. We want to thank all that have supported us over the many years and for allowing us to be a part of your memories. We do think drive-ins still have a place but not on a busy highway like ours. Just because it is best for us to retire from the drive-in business it could be an opportunity for someone else. If anyone is interested in our projector, screen or concession equipment please send an email to questions@franklindrive-in.com
We will miss you all."

[Martin Brooks]

Astonishing that the Union Square in NYC will close. That has been the classic Manhattan major motion picture first frame exclusive run location since it opened, often co-booked with the AMC Lincoln Square.

Shit is getting real, fellas.

It's not necessarily closing. If you read the original document, it cites a "lease rejection' and mentions that they hope the leases can be re-negotiated. This is a negotiating tactic. I saw a posting on FB where someone claimed they spoke to the manager and it's not closing. Furthermore, if you go to the Regal website, the Union Square is still accepting pre-orders for a showing of "A Christmas Story" on December 13, 2023 (as well as other films between now and then).
It's also reportedly been a far higher grossing theater than the EWalk on 42nd street, which was not on the list.

So while anything is possible, I won't believe it's closing until they post a closing date and take the pre-orders off of the website.

Furthermore, the cost to the building owner to reconfigure the space would be quite high as they'd' basically have to strip the space down to the frame and start over. All the sloping floors and stadium seating structures would have to be removed. It would be far easier just to give Regal a lower lease price. But having said that, real-estate companies frequently operate in insane ways, like leaving retail space empty for years rather than settling for a lower lease cost.