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

[Mike Rivest]

Grand opening ads:
MoviE Town from the Lancaster PA area on May 7th, 1999.
MoviE Town 1999 05 07.jpg


Also the Star Southfield 20 from June 20th, 1997.

Star Southfield 1997 06 20.jpg

[Terry Monohan]

Rumor is AMC Theatres will be closing for good about 75% of all their cinemas when they file for bankruptcy soon. Only a few key city cinemas will stay open. AMC was in bad financial trouble before C19 hit them. They are not paying rent for April in many markets that they are pulling out of. Looks like the mall owners will get extra added space for other types of business rather then movie showings when the virus dust settles If It does this Christmas time. I doubt any new movie circuit will take the closed AMC cinemas over, most have troubles of their own these days.

[Ronda Love]

Rumor is AMC Theatres will be closing for good about 75% of all their cinemas when they file for bankruptcy soon. Only a few key city cinemas will stay open. AMC was in bad financial trouble before C19 hit them. They are not paying rent for April in many markets that they are pulling out of. Looks like the mall owners will get extra added space for other types of business rather then movie showings when the virus dust settles If It does this Christmas time. I doubt any new movie circuit will take the closed AMC cinemas over, most have troubles of their own these days.

Source? They have some locations we might be interested in...

[Terry Monohan]

Ronda**Will probably hear more in the next few weeks once they release more information from the AMC home office and the legal people. A few of my friends that work at AMC have told me things do not look good for the future at AMC. So many leases to get out of and some sales of theatres that they no longer are interested in. I'd call the main AMC Theatre offices and tell them what cinemas you are interested in taking over the lease or buying the building as is equipment and all. Most are ready to re open when the virus leaves town. Most AMC Theatres may be closed but the equipment is still in place for now. Once bankruptcy starts things will start moving out on closed former cinemas if they can not work things out with any new movie people. Some areas of the USA like Regal Theatres has done will just walk away from the lease and leave most old projection and sound equipment inside.

[Jim Cassedy]

Source?

Check out Page 6 of the topic " Corona Virus Effect On Theaters In The USA" on this website which contains links to an article on the subject. Specifically, read Martin McCaffery's reply, & check out the link included in it.
Also, if you plug "AMC Bankruptcy" into your favorite search engine, you'll find a wholebuncha articles on the topic.

[Sean McKinnon]

What a shame the loss of Star Southfield is. When that theatre opened it was truly first class and the business the first few years really reflected it. Star had their former regional office there when Brian Blatchley was running the region for Loews.

As far as chains go I think Loews was the lesser of a lot of evils. As a Theatre Manager (assistant manager) at a 20 screen top 10 theatre (for the company) at 18-19 years old I was paid very well (salary 35-40k a year back in 2000) was expected to always wear a suit and tie and maintenance and upkeep on the buildings was very important. You were judged a lot on how your theatre looked. Compared to AMC and their hourly managers wearing uniforms and running these once beautiful buildings into the ground. In my opinion the theatres that David Rockwell and the Rockwell Group designed with the Loeks' and LCE were the best multiplex style theatres of the multiplex era. It is a shame what many of these buildings have become and it will be a shame to lose them all together if AMC dumps them.

[Eric Thuemmel]

The Cadillac 4 Cinema is permanently closing. Located in Cadillac, a popular all-season vacation town of 10,000 in Michigan, rumors are they expect someone will buy it soon, as there is no other cinema within 40 miles.

https://www.9and10news.com/2020/05/0...s-permanently/

[Eric Thuemmel]

And another one in Michigan - Grand Rapids Celebration Cinema next to the Woodland Mall, off of the Beltline and 28th Street. It ran 2nd run films for quite some time now.

https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rap...-NbnKjKxQctDP8

[Mike Rivest]

The AMC Grand 24 in Dallas, Texas opened 25 years ago today.
AMC Grand 24 1995 05 19.jpg

[Mark Ogden]

The AMC Wayne 14 in Wayne, New Jersey will not reopen. The theatre started life in December 1982 as a 70mm equipped Loews six-plex. It was expanded by two screens in 1989 and by six screens in 1997. They just did an extensive renovation last year, with older auditoriums getting the stadium treatment with recliners, largely as a reaction to the new Cinemark 12 screen theatre that opened less than one-half mile away. Like AMC theaters in general, the place had pretty much gone to hell, but it also had a troubled history of rough crowds and violence, and probably the single most flood-prone parking lot I've ever seen.

[Martin McCaffery]

Regal Manor Theatre, oldest operating theatre in Charlotte, NC will not reopen.
https://www.wbtv.com/2020/05/20/char...outputType=amp

Charlotte’s oldest movie theater and last art house is closing for good amid COVID

Charlotte’s oldest movie theater Regal Manor Twin on Providence Road is closing following years of rumors and speculation. (Source: GOOGLE EARTH)
By Catherine Muccigrosso | May 20, 2020 at 6:12 PM EDT - Updated May 20 at 6:12 PM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Charlotte Observer) - Charlotte’s oldest movie theater will not reopen following the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Following years of speculation, it’s official: Regal Manor Twin on Providence Road is officially closing. The 73-year-old theater opened in 1947 and also is Charlotte’s last full-time art house.

“We truly appreciate the loyal patronage at the Manor Twin and our partnership with Eastern Federal over the years. Our staff worked hard to provide a quality entertainment venue serving Charlotte moviegoers with art and independent film,” said Richard Grover, vice president of communications for Regal.

“With the closing of this location, we will continue to offer art and independent film at our other Regal theaters in the Charlotte area.”

The shopping center is owned by Eastern Federal Corp., according to the real estate management and investment company’s website. The company sold its 21 theaters and 230-screen division in 2005 to Regal after 70 years, the site sates.

A LONG LEGACY

EFC, based in Charlotte, has commercial and residential real estate properties in North Carolina and Florida.

“EFC is proud to have been a part of the long legacy of the Manor theater, first as operators and more recently as landlord,” said Josh Page, COO at Eastern Federal. “As owners of the property for over 75 years, we are going to carefully consider our alternatives and be very mindful of the importance of this property to Charlotte.”

Manor Shops lists no availability for the more than 28,000-square-foot center that includes Panera Bread, according to Thrift Commercial Real Estate Services website.

In February, Regal Ballantyne Village closed. Jonathan Gould with Stonemar Properties of New York, which owns and manages the center, said in January that the decision to close was mutual with Regal. The roughly 50,000-square-foot space on two floors is now office space.

Regal has four other theaters in Charlotte theaters and several others in the region.

Regal abruptly closed Park Terrace, also known for showing independent and foreign films, three years ago. The Park Road theater was the second oldest in Charlotte, opening in 1964.

AMC bought that theater, renovated it and re-opened last year showing mainstream movies on six screens.

OTHER THEATER CLOSINGS

Just as it looked like Charlotte was expanding with more movie theaters, another one closed.

Studio Movie Grill, a movie theater with full-service dining, opened its second Charlotte location at 5336 Docia Crossing Road in December. It has 10 screens and 1,022 luxury recliners.

However, it the Texas-based chain then closed its original Charlotte location in Epicentre on March 2.

[Scott Jentsch]

The AMC Wayne 14 in Wayne, New Jersey will not reopen.

Mark, do you know of any news coverage or announcements of this? I couldn't find anything, and I like to reference other sources when I write "closing" articles so people have additional context.

[Mike Rivest]

Grand opening ads for recently closed cinemas, Epicentre from December 12th, 2008, Manor April 11th, 1947 Epicentre 2008 12 12.jpgConsolidated Manor 1947 04 11.jpg

[Geoff Jones]

Seattle Cinerama has changed their message from "Closed for Renovations" to:

The COVID-19 crisis has had a devastating effect on many businesses, especially those that rely on public gatherings and special events.

Due to this, we've stopped our renovation efforts of Cinerama and plan to stay closed for the foreseeable future.

This one hurts.

Maybe Amazon will buy it...

[Ronda Love]

Maybe this counts as a temporary open? Should popups go here?

https://www.wisn.com/article/parking-lot-cinema-opens-friday-at-majestic-cinema-in-brookfield/32676285?fbclid=IwAR25VbfBKkSpwmaCadFziz_7fYvzFB9OpiLZY5KxxBn57hjZbO7SHvwFaYw