On April 12, Pacific Theatres issued a terse, five-sentence statement announcing that it would not reopen its theaters, which include the much-loved ArcLight Cinemas chain.On one level, it was not a surprise.
The pandemic has forced several other regional theater circuits into bankruptcy.But the Pacific announcement was odd.
Some of the other chains — such as Studio Movie Grill and Alamo Drafthouse — announced plans to reorganize and keep operating.
Pacific didn’t do that.
It didn’t declare bankruptcy.
It just… disappeared.That fed rumors that the closure was just a ploy.
ArcLight’s Cinerama Dome has stood proudly on Sunset Boulevard since 1963.
It hosted premieres and made cameos in “Entourage” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Surely it had to be profitable? If it could fail, then moviegoing itself was in peril.
An online campaign begged some deep-pocketed studio to save it.Chris Forman, the CEO of parent company Decurion,
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