Regal to reopen Pasadena's former ArcLight theater

Ryan Faughnder
Updated ·1 min read
PASADENA, CA - APRIL 12: The Arclight Pasadena in the Paseo Shopping Center on Monday, April 12, 2021 in Pasadena, CA. The beloved Arclight and Pacific theaters all decimated by the pandemic are closing it's doors for good. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
The Arclight Pasadena at the Paseo in Pasadena. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

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.

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.

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.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.