Pacific Theatres

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This article is about the cinema chain. For other uses, see Pacific Theatre (disambiguation).
Pacific Theatres
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryEntertainment
Founded1946
Defunct2021
FateChapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation
Headquarters
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
ProductsMotion pictures, movie theaters
OwnerThe Decurion Corporation
Websitewww.pacifictheatres.com

Pacific Theatres was an American chain of movie theaters in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of California. Pacific Theatres was owned by The Decurion Corporation which also owned and operated ArcLight Cinemas. In 2008, it sold its store locations in San Diego to Reading Cinemas. In April 2021, Pacific Theatres announced they would not be reopening any of their theater locations after being closed since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times that, “After shutting our doors more than a year ago, today we must share the difficult and sad news that Pacific will not be reopening its ArcLight Cinemas and Pacific Theatres locations,” Pacific Theatres said in a statement. “This was not the outcome anyone wanted, but despite a huge effort that exhausted all potential options, the company does not have a viable way forward.”[1] In June 2021, the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.[2]

Developments[]

Pacific Theatres at the Americana at Brand shopping center in Glendale, California

The company had some 300 movie screens in California. Pacific Theatres was active in real estate development through its Robertson Properties Group, which was originally formed to re-develop former Pacific Drive in Theatres. Today Robertson Properties currently acquires and develops retail, office, and residential, throughout the pacific northwest. Developments included theatres at The Grove at Farmers Market in Los Angeles, and the ArcLight Hollywood and neighboring historic Cinerama Dome in Hollywood.[3]

Pacific also operated the only remaining drive-in theater in Los Angeles County as of 2013, the Vineland Drive-In, located in the La Puente area.[4] It also operates a swap meet business on many of its former drive-in sites, although many of those sites were razed in the mid-2000s due to increasing real estate prices. Pacific Theatre also owned the Valley 6 drive in theatre in Auburn, Washington which was the last operating drive in from the United Theatre chain that Pacific ran in the Northwest from the 1950s. They closed the Valley drive in at the end of 2012 season, the land is set to be developed by Robertson Properties. The other 20 drive ins, in the Northwest that were owned by United Theatre were redeveloped by Robertson Properties in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Pacific was also one of the first theatres to have Samsung Onyx screens.[5]

On March 17, 2020, Pacific Theatres closed all of its theater locations, including ArcLight Cinemas, to comply with COVID-19 public health mandates. In March 2021, when COVID-19 restrictions were eased in Los Angeles County to allow movie theatres to reopen, all of the Pacific Theatres and ArcLight Cinemas locations notably remained closed. On April 12, 2021, Pacific Theatres announced that it would cease operations permanently, stating "this was not the outcome anyone wanted, but despite a huge effort that exhausted all potential options, the company does not have a viable way forward."[6]

On June 18, 2021, Pacific Theatres filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.[2] On July 19, 2021, AMC Theatres announced that it would acquire the leases to the Americana at Brand in downtown Glendale and The Grove at west 3rd Street in Los Angeles locations, and that they would reopen in August as part of the AMC chain. The company has not ruled out acquiring the leases of other Pacific Theatres locations.[7] In December 2021, AMC Theaters also announced that they had acquired the lease to the former location at Northridge Fashion Center in Northridge, Los Angeles, which will open in 2022.[8]

Reading Cinemas[]

In 2007, Reading International Inc purchased 15 theatres within the Pacific chain in California and Hawaii, and on February 22, 2008, became Reading Cinemas,[9] with the exception of the Hawaiian theatres, which remained under the Consolidated Theatres banner.[10] The chain's remaining theatres are located only within the greater Los Angeles area, Orange County, and San Diego.

History[]

The Forman family founded Pacific Theatres in 1946 and continued to own and operate the company through its Decurion Corporation through its closure in April 2021.

References[]

  1. ^ Faughnder, Ryan (12 April 2021). "Pacific and ArcLight theaters will not reopen following the pandemic, company says". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 18, 2021). "Pacific Theatres Files For Chapter 7 Bankruptcy". Deadline Hollywood.
  3. ^ "Pacific Theatres Entertainment Corporation: Company Profile from Hoover's". hoovers.com. 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  4. ^ Nelson, Laura (2013-01-19). "Digital projection has drive-in movie theaters reeling". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-01-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ Statt, Nick. "Samsung's giant, 34-foot Onyx screens are 4K monitors for movie theaters". The Verge. The Verge. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  6. ^ "ArcLight Cinemas and Pacific Theatres to Close". The Hollywood Reporter. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  7. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2021-07-19). "AMC Closes Deal For Grove & Americana Leases In L.A.; Venues Reopening In August With PLF Upgrades – Update". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-07-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ Goldsmith, Jill (2021-12-21). "AMC Entertainment Takes Over Two More Arclight Cinemas And Pacific Theatres – In LA, Chicago". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-12-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ "Reading International buying theaters from Pacific Theaters". bizjournals.com. October 10, 2007. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  10. ^ "Consolidated Theatres selling to mainland firm". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. October 10, 2007. Retrieved November 18, 2015.

External links[]

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