Regal to reopen Pasadena’s former ArcLight theater

The Regal cinema chain on Thursday said it will reopen Pasadena’s former ArcLight theater at the Paseo shopping center.

Regal has entered into a lease agreement with real estate firm Onni Group to operate the theater, the company said. The circuit did not specify a reopening date.

The news comes three years after the location — along with movie houses around the country — shut its doors as the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Entertainment & Arts

Column: I used to mock L.A. nostalgia — until the ArcLight closed. Now I want to howl at the sky

Whatever fortitude saw me through the pandemic dissolved the moment I heard the ArcLight was closing. The ArcLight Pasadena was my theater.

April 12, 2021

ArcLight and Pacific Theatres said in 2021 that its locations, including the 14-screen Pasadena theater, would not reopen. ArcLight and Pacific liquidated its assets in Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Knoxville, Tenn.-based Regal is the nation’s second largest movie theater operator, behind only Leawood, Kan.’s AMC Theatres.

Regal’s parent company, London-based Cineworld, declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year amid a slow box office recovery. The company said it planned to close dozens of locations in the U.S., including one at the Sherman Oaks Galleria, itself a former ArcLight. As of this week, the Sherman Oaks theater remains open.

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Regal Cinemas parent company seeks bankruptcy protection in box office drought

The British film exhibitor has been struggling with a debt load of about $5 billion, as the pandemic and streaming pummel the box office.

Sept. 7, 2022

ArcLight’s flagship Hollywood multiplex on Sunset Boulevard remains dark, but is expected to reopen eventually.

The closure of the ArcLight chain left the Paseo shopping complex without its movie theater anchor. Cineworld Chief Executive Mooky Greidinger said in a statement that the reopened theater would feature “upgrades to the theatrical experience.”

The city of Pasadena has not been totally unscreened since the pandemic. Landmark Theatres last year took over the lease of Laemmle’s Playhouse 7 location. Luxury cinema circuit iPic also has a foothold in Pasadena.