Apple Valley’s AMC Classic movie theater permanently closed

Signs posted on locked doors and empty movie poster holders told visitors that the AMC Classic Apple Valley 14 movie theater had permanently closed.

A cold wind blew across the parking lot as employees picked up final paychecks on Thursday at the theater located in the Apple Valley Plaza on Bear Valley Road. Several employees told the Daily Press that the theater had shut its doors on Wednesday.

“End of the line, dude,” said one employee, who requested anonymity. “People weren't coming so it was just a matter of time before we closed.”

The closure signs also suggested visitors visit the company's next nearest location: AMC DINE-IN Ontario Mills 30.

AMC Entertainment Holdings did not respond to questions about the Apple Valley theater or the future of the company.

The AMC theater debuted as the UltraStar Digiplex in December 2007, and was the only business ever to open in the mostly uncompleted plaza along Central Road on the east side of town.

Moviegoers speak out

Several moviegoers told the Daily Press that the theater was once the crown jewel of the High Desert until the opening of the more modern Cinemark Jess Ranch in Apple Valley, Cinemark 16 in Victorville, and the Civic Plaza 12 Cinema in Hesperia.

“We used to drive from Hesperia to watch movies at the AMC,” Irene Solano said. “Once Cinemark opened in Jess Ranch, there was no need to make that long drive.”

Solano added that when the theater first opened, “It was clean, the lines were long, the popcorn was hot and the projection quality was excellent.”

Others said they appreciated the friendliness and attentiveness of the theater staff.

“Cinemark is always so crowded and overpriced,” Jennifer Simpson said. “The AMC has been a favorite of our family. We haven't been there in a couple of weeks, but we usually go every week.”

Jennifer Simpson said the AMC staff were nice and the popcorn bucket deals were a bargain.

“Looks like I'll be streaming movies from home," she said. "It's not worth the price and the lines at Cinemark.”

Rhonert Pascual also lamented the shuttering of the AMC, claiming that Cinemark has taken over all the local movie theaters.

“I remember when the mall theater was AMC in the 90s and it was wonderful,” Pascual said. “The workers were so nice and the theaters were so clean. It used to be a really fun experience.”

Cheryl Moyer shared her frustration with the closure of AMC, saying that she and her son, Micah, had “a date day” there several times a month.

“The prices were great, the people worked hard, it was always clean and there were not huge crowds,” Moyer said. “That theater was the best thing to have happened on my side of town and in Apple Valley. We don't have any reasonable entertainment other than ridiculously- priced, dirty Cinemark. What a sad day.”

Sheree Schaaf voiced her sadness and said the closing of the AMC “stinks.”

“My daughter just said she wanted to go there but called it the $1 theater,” Schaaf said. “Another business is gone. Just sad really. What could it be reimagined to be?”

Pastor Dane Davis said it’s sad to see the entire plaza “become a ghost town.” He added that if zoning permits, he would like to see the theater repurposed as a church or community center.

Losing appeal

Several moviegoers claimed that over the years, the AMC lost its appeal, mostly because it was an older theater, with no luxury seating and projection issues.

Aaron Burkart said he was not surprised by the AMC’s closure, claiming that the theater was in a “terrible location” and had changed hands several times since it opened.

Isabella Simpson admitted that she only went to the AMC if they were showing a film that she couldn’t watch at the Jess Ranch Cinemark.

The UltraStar Digiplex

After a nearly 10-year effort and several delays right up to its grand opening, the nearly 55,000-square-foot theater finally welcomed moviegoers with 2,600 stadium-style seats, digital cinema technology, and 3-D viewing options.

The first movie theater tickets sold were for “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” “Enchanted,” “Beowulf,” “The Golden Compass” and “I am Legend.”

The theater also offered a few free movies such as “Pirate of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” “Ocean’s 13,” and “Shrek the Third.”

At that time, then-Councilman Scott Nassif, now mayor, told the Daily Press that he hoped Apple Valley’s first theater would draw moviegoers from across the Victor Valley.

Back then, the only competition from a modern, big-box movie theater was the 16-screen Cinemark at the Mall of Victor Valley, which opened in November 2006.

In May 2009, Cinemark Jess Ranch opened in the Jess Ranch Marketplace on Bear Valley Road in Apple Valley, which would later add Luxury Lounger seats.

In 2014, Carmike Cinemas took over as owner-operator of Digiplex Apple Valley 14 until AMC's acquisition of the company in 2016.

Until a new tenant is found, the uncompleted plaza will include the empty theater, two large buildings that were never occupied, and several retail and fast food pads.

Struggling movie chain

AMC Chairman and CEO Adam Aron took to Twitter on May 1 to lash out at Robinhood Markets after the company briefly ran a banner wrongly declaring that the movie-theater chain had filed for bankruptcy, MarketWatch reported.

“I am getting multiple reports that Robinhood briefly posted today that AMC filed for bankruptcy. How can companies like Robinhood do this? So ludicrous, so wrong, so irresponsible,” Aron stated.

Aron also noted that the theater chain is due to report its quarterly earnings on Friday.

Wall Street analysts expect the troubled theater company will report adjusted losses of 16 cents per share on Friday for the quarter that ended in March, according to MarketWatch.

AMC shares soared back in 2021 as a movement of retail investors bought up shares in the struggling theater chain. Shares peaked intraday at north of $40, according to FactSet data.

An Amazon takeover?

During the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, executives at Amazon mulled the purchase of the financially struggling AMC cinema chain, according to several sources, including MarketWatch and Variety.

The purchase of the movie chain at the time would have involved more than 600 cinemas in the U.S.

"The recent online media speculation that Wanda's AMC is filing for bankruptcy is pure rumor,” the Wanda Group reported in 2020 on its Chinese-language website hours after the New York Post reported that AMC's executive team was in talks to hire bankruptcy lawyers.

In mid-March 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom requested that restaurants shift to to-go orders only and directed gyms, health clubs, and movie theaters to temporarily close.

In the meantime, AMC was saddled with $4.9 billion in debt, mostly from borrowed money to refurbish existing locations and buy competitors, such as Carmike and Odeon Cinemas, according to Variety.

In early 2020, talk of the possible movie chain’s acquisition by Amazon sent shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings skyward. But AMC’s stock price began declining when the COVID-19 outbreak led to worldwide theater shutdowns, MarketWatch reported.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Apple Valley’s AMC Classic movie theater permanently closed