UPDATED: ArcLight Cinemas, Pacific Theatres Permanently Closing In Wake of COVID
Caruso backs movie theaters, saying, “We firmly believe in the future of the movie-going experience.”
By Greg Cornfield April 12, 2021 11:00 pm
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UPDATED: In what might be the most crushing loss to Hollywood’s movie theater industry in the wake of COVID-19, the Decurion Corporation announced Monday that its Pacific Theatres and ArcLight Cinemas locations will permanently close.
“After shutting our doors more than a year ago, today we must share the difficult and sad news that Pacific will not be reopening its ArcLight Cinemas and Pacific Theatres locations,” the theater said in an announcement posted to its Pacific Theatres website. “This was not the outcome anyone wanted, but despite a huge effort that exhausted all potential options, the company does not have a viable way forward.”
In a town built on box-office blockbusters, and in a community that treasures its movie theaters like trophies, the Los Angeles-based firm counts some of the city’s favorites in its portfolio. It includes some of Hollywood’s most beloved and recognizable locations: the iconic Pacific Cinerama Dome and ArcLight Hollywood at 6360 Sunset Boulevard, as well as Pacific Theaters at The Grove, and more.
The Hollywood Arclight is also one of the highest-grossing movie theaters in the nation, according to Deadline, which broke the news.
Rick Caruso owns The Grove and Americana at Brand, with Pacific Theatres, and on Monday he said movie theaters would continue rolling.
“We believe in the future of this sector, the future of entertainment, and we will not submit to the pressures of this unrelenting year: We will rise up and reimagine the future of moviegoing,” Caruso said in a statement to L.A. Times. “We firmly believe in the future of the movie-going experience.”
Even though L.A. is reopening and now expanding capacities to 50 percent at movie theaters, the industry was hamstrung by the shutdowns, and has often been last in line for reopening, after closing more than one year ago due to the spreading coronavirus. The disruption upended release dates for major studio films from Disney to Warner Brothers, with studios pushing premiere dates into 2021 or 2022, or simply skipping theaters altogether in lieu of streaming.
