'It's Heartbreaking': ArcLight Cinemas, Pacific Theatres Closing Permanently Due To Pandemic Losses
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA/AP) — ArcLight Cinemas and Pacific Theatres will not reopen due to losses suffered during the pandemic. The news comes just one week after Los Angeles County allowed movie theaters to increase capacity.
"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," a statement posted to the Pacific Theatres website said.
Pacific Theatres operates some 300 screens in California, including the beloved ArcLight theaters, the historic Cinerama Dome in Hollywood and multiplexes at The Grove and The Americana shopping malls.
"It's heartbreaking," Anthony Duran, an ArcLight fan, said. "This was like a home away from home for me for the past 20 years, and I just found out and it's really sad."
And Duran was not alone in making the trek to the Cinerama Dome to say goodbye.
"We have a lot of good memories here," Maggie Muir, who drove down from Burbank with Drew Sykes, said. "And it's, hopefully, kind of the end of this pandemic, and we were sad to see it go."
The couple said they wanted to be there after the announcement was made the location would not be reopening.
"I've had a movie actually screened at ArcLight before, and I was just really bummed out," Sykes said.
The theaters were also a favorite of many entertainment industry professionals and celebrities, with many taking to social media to express their dismay over the news, including "Love & Basketball" filmmaker Gina Prince-Bythewood, "Parks and Recreation" actor Ben Schwartz and "Knives Out" director Rian Johnson.
One of the biggest losses was the historic Cinerama Dome, a concrete geodesic dome on Sunset Boulevard featured in movies like Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood."
It was commissioned in 1963 by Pacific Theatres founder William R. Forman as a state of the art way to see movies using three projectors for its custom curved screen and is only one of three in the world to have the capability.
The company thanked its employees, guests and members of the film industry for the years of support.
"It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve you," the statement said.
The decision does not rule out a possible sale of the chains.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
