BY FREDA MIKLIN
STAFF WRITER
The few people in this area who still like to go to the movies got a jolt last week when they discovered that three formerly-popular Regal theaters were permanently closed.
Shuttered are the Regal Continental at 3635 S. Monaco Street Parkway in Denver, the Regal Cinebarre Greenwood Plaza at 8141 E. Arapahoe Road in Greenwood Village Entertainment District, and the Regal Meadows at 9355 Park Meadows Drive in Lone Tree.
The Continental had been open for over 50 years and included an extra-large auditorium that was popular for important movie premieres and those that had special sound effects. Its last day of business was April 13.
The Cinebarre was a concept that Regal introduced at that location a few years ago after the theater lost a lot of its business to the Landmark Theater (when popcorn and soda there were complimentary) and the Regal Southglenn. The Landmark drew lots of adults and Southglenn drew many of the younger people who also liked the amenities of the outdoor mall at Streets of Southglenn. Cinebarre offered a limited menu of food that could be eaten at one’s seat but it was awkward to eat there and ordering popcorn from a waitperson was also different. We went there at 5:00 p.m. on April 14 to find out if it was still open. As we came up, a staff member in uniform was walking into work at the theater when the manager opened the door and told her and us that it had closed.
It’s unclear when the Meadows Theater closed but one need only try to pull up showtimes there to see that it is gone. It doesn’t even show up on the list of theaters on Regal’s own website that still lists the Continental and Cinebarre, which both say, “We don’t currently have any screenings that match your selections.”
We reported on January 26 that our review of documents filed in the bankruptcy case of Regal’s parent company, Cineworld, indicated that the Meadows and Southglenn theaters were planned to be closed February 1. We wondered why Southglenn would be closed with approved plans for over 900 new residential to be built at the Streets of Southglenn in addition to the over 200 that are already there? Apparently, plans changed because that theater is still open and operating with new first-run movies.
We visited the AMC Arapahoe Crossings theater at 6696 S. Parker Road in Centennial this past weekend to see a movie. It was hopping, even felt like pre-pandemic days. We asked an employee if business had picked up. He gave us a wide smile and said, “Definitely.”
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