Arclight Cinemas and theaters in the Pacific will not reopen – Deadline

EXCLUSIVE: Refresh for more details The last thing we needed to hear when the box office and exhibit returned from the pandemic was bad news, but the news spread like wildfire in distribution and exhibition circles that the Arclight Cinemas and Pacific Theaters will not reopen. The chain has issued a statement below.

Last week I learned that the chain was firing for a Memorial Day weekend reopening A quiet place part II and Cruella, now those hopes are being shattered, and at an unfortunate time, as it is expected that Los Angeles County could be given the opportunity to operate at 100% capacity in cinemas, well ahead of the wide-open order of June 15 from California Governor Newsom . Decurion’s crown jewel in its Arclight suite is the Hollywood multiplex and the 58-year-old Cinerama Dome location on Sunset Blvd, which made a big turnout in Quentin Tarantino’s Oscar-winning Once upon a time in Hollywood and is the favorite location of many filmmakers. The Hollywood Arclight is also one of the top-grossing movie theaters in the country; another huge blow to the industry and the LA market which is in its fourth week of a solid reopening.

Here is the statement of the necklace:

After closing our doors over a year ago, today we have to share the difficult and sad news that Pacific will not be reopening its ArcLight Cinemas and Pacific Theaters venues.

This was not the result everyone wanted, but despite a tremendous effort that has exhausted all possible options, the company has no viable path forward.

To all Pacific and ArcLight employees who have dedicated their professional lives to making our theaters the best places in the world to see movies, we are grateful for your service and your commitment to our customers.

To our guests and members of the film industry who have made going to the movies such a magical experience over the years: our deepest thanks. It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve you.

What I hear behind the scenes that that’s technically happening is that Decurion has returned the keys to all of their Arclight and Pacific properties to the landlords. That does not mean that the chain is bankrupt, but that it is part of a big lease. What happens in this case is that the landlord decides which keys he wants to keep and which ones he wants to return to the exhibitor. No word yet that the necklace is for sale; I think they are waiting to see what leases they get back. A lot of the Arclight locations the chain doesn’t own, and it’s the one I’ve been told is really upside down with their leases.

But that doesn’t bode well for the reopening of Arclight and Pacific is that we also hear that the chain has notified theatrical staff.

News broke on IndieWire over the weekend that Arclight’s new Culver City location was behind on March’s rent in the amount of $ 181,900.40, owed in full to debt collection agency Caitlin Brannon.

Considering how beloved the Cinerama dome is by studios and filmmakers – heck, Tarantino destroyed Disney for pushing Hateful Eight out of theaters, he made his 70MM western custom for December 2015, then Star Wars: Force Awakens closed off some large auditoriums – can’t see this Hollywood monument fall by the roadside. If Decurion can’t bring it back to life, someone has to come over and pick up the estate.