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After nearly four years at Westgate Mall, the movie theater now under Scene One Entertainment has been relaunched as Westgate Mall Cinemas, which opened Wednesday with vintage movie specials.
As part of its opening day celebration, the theater showcased timeless classics like “The Wizard of Oz” and fashion classics like “Barbie” for $3.
The cinema was scheduled to open in January and February, but after delays and shortages of films due to the Hollywood screenwriters’ strike, which delayed some releases, the cinema officially reopened on March 27.
Starting Thursday, the theater began presenting early releases on its six screens, including the latest installment in the franchise “King Fu Panda,” “Ghostbusters Frozen Empire” and “Godzilla x King: The New Empire. “
This is the second opening of a Scene One Entertainment theater in March, following the opening of the Wilton Mall theaters in Saratoga Springs, New York, two weeks ago. This cinema, like the Westgate, had been closed for over 3 years.
Joe Masher, CEO of Scene One Entertainment, spoke about the relaunch of the Westgate Mall Cinema.
“Reopening this theater, which has been closed since the COVID pandemic, has been quite a challenge,” Masher said. “We put a lot of effort into cleaning it up and running again. Projectors required a lot of paints to succeed in their capabilities. We had a lot of problems with the devices that we had to wait for portions. “
Masher said the writers’ strike also had a big impact on the release schedule, with few must-see films released in January and February.
“No cinema has done well in these months, so now that all these wonderful videos are coming out, we think the time is right,” Masher said. “We also screened several old films and two of last summer’s biggest hits on our Opening Night to showcase our cinema. “
The theater, once owned by Premiere Cinemas, opened as a United Artists movie theater at its first exhibition in 1988. At the time of its closure in the mall, Premiere Cinema was a second-screen or discounted movie theater that screened films at a reduced price after their first broadcast in traditional movie theaters.
Masher said he’s noticed a lot of excitement at the chain about reopening. He also said that it is vital to be a first-run cinema because of the market for films in conversion.
“People are thrilled that it’s a premiere theater, whereas last time it was a premiere theater,” Masher said. “The market for first-run theaters that screen films after their first release no longer exists. With the proliferation of quality streaming, those movies were already available on those platforms when they hit theaters for their second broadcast.
With the closure of Regal Theatres, Masher said it was an excellent deal for a theater opening and that he could strike a deal with Westgate Mall to make it happen.
“There’s never been a better time to open a six-screen cinema with all the dining services nearby in a shopping mall as busy as this one,” Masher added.
With this opening, Masher says it will offer the most affordable costs in the city with features that will entice families and other teams to share it. He also promised summer specials for families’ school holidays.
Masher said an arcade will be added in the mall to the front of the theater to bring more reporting to the theater.
“We didn’t need to modernize the theater too much because it has the ’80s movie vibe that doesn’t exist in a lot of places anymore,” Masher said. “This theater is wonderful because it has wonderful seating in a giant auditorium with a loud sound. “We also have this wonderful front to install in a massive arcade. We can no longer just show movies. You have to provide entertainment, and I think an arcade in a mall will do just that. We need to be a mall destination. “
The Westgate Mall’s control organization weighed in on the theater’s reopening in a press release.
“Scene One is an exciting and welcome new addition to Westgate Mall’s dynamic mix of retail and entertainment offerings,” said Elliot Nassim of Mason Asset Management, which is partnering with Namdar Realty Group to oversee the mall’s asset control and leasing efforts. “We remain committed to Westgate’s long-term as a lifestyle destination for the Amarillo metro community, and we look forward to the reopening of Scene One later this month. “
This article appeared in Amarillo Globe-News: Movie theater reopens as Westgate Mall Cinemas at Amarillo Mall
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