Manhattan’s Union Square Regal Theater Isn’t Closing After All
By Rebecca Baird-Remba June 16, 2023 12:26 pm
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Regal Cinemas has renegotiated its lease with Related Companies for its sprawling Union Square movie theater, a few months after announcing that it would shutter the location amid Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
The theater conglomerate quietly announced the new long-term lease at 1 Union Square South on Thursday. However, the company didn’t include any details on the transaction, including the square footage, length of the lease or brokers involved.
The theater opened in 1998 under the United Artists banner at the base of Related’s 17-story, 239-unit residential complex. Regal then completed a multimillion-dollar renovation of the 2,000-seat multiplex during the pandemic, adding an espresso bar, an updated lobby and “4DX” auditoriums with vibrations, scents and motion-synchronized seats.
“We are thrilled to continue our long-term relationship with Regal in the heart of Union Square,” said Chad Jones, a senior vice president at Related Companies. “The best-in-class cinema experience will continue to bring the magic of the movies to thousands of Manhattan residents as well as visitors from around the world.”
Cineworld, Regal’s parent company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January and announced the closure of 39 theaters nationwide. As some experts predicted, Regal and Cineworld used the bankruptcy as a bargaining chip to negotiate a new lease at a more competitive rate than what Related had been offering.
Mooky Greidinger, the CEO of Cineworld, said that the company was excited “to enter into a long-term lease agreement for this premier entertainment destination providing moviegoers from the area the best place to watch a movie for many years to come.”
Rebecca Baird-Remba can be reached at rbairdremba@commercialobserver.com.
