IMAX and Apple Cinemas, a small Massachusetts theater chain, will collaborate to renovate and reopen the former Regal United Artists theater at Riverview Plaza in South Philadelphia, which closed five years ago, writes Michael Tanenbaum for PhillyVoice.
Once renovations are complete, the multiplex theater at 1400 S. Christopher Columbus Boulevard will feature an IMAX screen with a laser system.
“A number of our locations in Suburban Philadelphia are among our best performing in the country, so we’re excited to return to the city itself in a prime location with a great partner in Apple Cinemas,” said IMAX CEO Rich Gelfrond in a statement.
When it closed due to the pandemic in 2020, the former Regal theater was Philadelphia’s highest-grossing multiplex. The movie theater and shopping center were developed by Bart Blatstein’s Tower Investments in the late 1980s.
The theater opened to moviegoers in 1991 with nine screens but expanded over the years to 17, including an IMAX screen. Blatstein sold the property in 2002 to Cedar Realty Trust and then bought it back in 2003.
According to an IMAX spokesperson, the company plans to install a new screen with a laser projector, an IMAX sound system, and a seating deck.
There is no set opening date yet for next year.
Read more about the movie theater in PhillyVoice.
