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

[Ed Gordon]

I once toured a theater from the late 1920's that was auctioning off everything, including the plaster ceiling. There was door off the projection room that had a catwalk that was suspended over the ceiling. I noticed all this just hanging by wires and thought at the time, "I would not want to be in the audience during an earthquake".

[Martin McCaffery]

We had the same thing happen back in 1991. Our building is 1941, seriously heavy plaster. A whole section of the ceiling swung loose, smashed against the wall and then crashed on top of the seats. It, fortunately happened in the middle of the night, so no patrons were hurt. Luckily our then landlord's insurance paid for the repair and complete ceiling reinforcement.
As it happened the night before Madonna's Truth or Dare was supposed to open, we call that the movie God tried to stop.

[Tj Hopland]

Not a a great look at things in the video but it seemed odd that there was such a sharp straight edge looking thing going on there and the joists look fairly clean. Makes me think that area had got a repair at some point in its life. 1907 plaster would not have been clean breaks and there would be chunks of the wood or wire lath still hanging on in places. Or maybe its a combo of my screen and the video and it is a jagged mess up there?

[Mike Blakesley]

Interesting how similar the manager's last name is to yours, Mike. Maybe the spelling got changed on a distant ancestor!

I have wondered about that...there are various spellings even just in Montana. The name is British -- there's actually a viillage called Blakesley in the U.K. Nice little place, too.

[Ryan Gallagher]

This must be a different ceiling collapse than shared earlier, cause that one occurred during a film (sparsely attended and no injuries).

Yikes, that was a historic ceiling, not just some drop ceiling failure. Gonna be a pricey repair, if even within their means.

[Lyle Romer]

Thank goodness that happened in the middle of the night so there were no injuries. Interesting how similar the manager's last name is to yours, Mike. Maybe the spelling got changed on a distant ancestor!

[Mike Blakesley]

The Babcock Theater in Billings MT, a classic single screen house that was built in 1907, closed over the summer as a part of its ceiling collapsed. They still haven't announced a reopening date or the cost of repairs. They have pretty broad community support there, plus they're a nonprofit with a director who's very good at finding grants, so I am sure it'll reopen eventually and have all sorts of improvements baked in when it happens.

The Babcock was a mainstream downtown movie house for decades, but closed when three multiplexes were built in the newer areas of Billings. Then it reopened as a discount house, which failed, and then it had a lot of live shows, boxing matches, that type of thing. Then it was acquired by the Arthouse Theater, which already had a multi-screen arthouse cinema built into an old store building nearby. They were mostly showing mainstream first run in the Babcock when the collapse happened. It occurred at 1:30 AM so there was nobody in the building.

The link has some video in which you can see the damage.

https://www.ktvq.com/news/local-news...ted-for-repair

[Scott Jentsch]

The Park Theatre in Park Falls, Wisconsin will be closing in November.

[Ryan Gallagher]

The first one would appear to be the Landmark Cinema Brooks (or perhaps Oasis Cinema under a former name). (was the only cinema in town it seems).

The 2nd appears to be the Landmark Cinema Edson (apparently the ONLY cinema in Edson). (also only cinema in town it seems).

(links are to the google maps page with photos). Both seem kinda charming little small town single screen cinemas, I hope they survive or become community spaces.

[Frank Cox]

I have been advised that two of Landmark's theatres in Alberta are available for sale.

These are not my theatres, I know nothing further about them past what you see here.

Here is what I got:

We wanted to share an exciting opportunity that may be of interest to you or your network. Landmark Cinemas currently has two single-screen theatres available for sale in Alberta. Whether you're looking to expand your portfolio or invest in a unique community property, these listings offer both potential and character.

* Brooks, Alberta:
* Single screen / currently “Closed”;
* Listed Price - $230,000.00 [Includes land, building & all equipment];
* Listing Agent:
Brad Stolsonland
Broker / Owner
ReMax Main Street Realty
Phone: [403] 793-3776
Email: stolson@telusplanet.net<mailto:stolson@telusplanet .net>

* Edson, Alberta:
* Single screen / currently “Open & Operating”;
* Listed Price - $550,000.00 [includes land, building & all equipment];
* Listing Agent:
Karen Spenser-Miller
Broker / Owner
Twins Century 21 Realty
Phone: [780] 712-3333
Email: kspenser.miller@century21.ca<mailto:kspenser.mille r@century21.ca>

If either property is of interest, please feel free to reach out directly to the listing agents for more information or to schedule a viewing. And if you know someone who might be interested, we’d greatly appreciate you passing this along.

[Frank Cox]

Were they existing non-conforming uses under the current zoning bylaw for the district? If they were not, then of course there would be no issues with re-opening (other than the usual public health stuff and whatnot).

[Allan Barnes]

Hi Frank
I am not sure that statement is legally correct. I bought 2 drive in theatres that were closed.... and had no issue in re-opening. STARLITE DI in STONEY CREEK, ONTARIO in 1988-89

[Frank Cox]

I'm sure anyone interested in that property would know this already, but that real estate listing shows the property as "legal non-conforming", which means that it isn't an allowed use under the current zoning bylaw but it's allowed to continue as a drive-in as long as that use is uninterrupted, but if that use ceases (closes, goes out of business, etc.) it can't be re-opened as a drive-in.

So if the current owner stops operating it before selling it to the next guy, said next guy is outta-luck if he wants to reopen it as a drive-in.

[Allan Barnes]

for sale....MUSTANG DRIVE IN THEATRE (aka JEM DRIVE IN) in GUELPH, ONTARIO in CANADA. ONLY 3.4 million Canadian dollars. 11.6 ACRES
****ONE SCREEN**** Owner John D’Addetta

Here is the link as of June 1st 2025.......... https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/2...pheramosa-east

[Leo Enticknap]

...a bottle of acetone...

It was used to clean the blades and mating surfaces of cement splicers. Agreed that if the projectionist who bought it was also using the Lucky Strikes in proximity to the splicer, the acetone (which itself is highly volatile and flammable, as well as the nitrate film it was used to help splice) and the film, that would certainly explain why the county and the fire marshal "had concerns!" It would have been a somewhat unlucky strike if one of them had struck a 2,000ft reel.

However, if those concerns persisted until 1958, they could also be related to battery maintained emergency lighting, crush bars on doors, sprinkler systems, and a whole bunch of other requirements in today's fire code that likely weren't in 1958's.