NILES Regal Cinemas closes Movieworld

The Valley's other Regal theaters are safe for now -- the company has no plans to close other facilities.
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
NILES -- Regal Cinemas Inc. has closed its six-plex Movieworld of Niles theater in the Great East Plaza as part of an effort to reorganize its debts under a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
Ann Julsen, a spokeswoman for the nation's largest film exhibitor, said the Movieworld and the Hickory Ridge Eight in Brunswick were Regal's only Ohio theaters to close.
"Regal has no plans at this time to close any other theaters," she said.
Regal also operates Cinema South on South Avenue in Boardman, Boulevard Centre in the Eastwood Mall Complex in Niles and Regal Cinema -- Austintown on Mahoning Avenue.
Julsen said Movieworld closed after the last show Thursday night. She was unable to provide information on the number of employees there or whether they had been offered employment at other area Regal facilities.
Julsen said she had no information on the total number of theaters Regal will close across the country, but The Associated Press reported the chain will shutter 20 to 25 older theaters, most in cities where it already has a presence.
Regal has already closed about 100 theaters in the past year.
Built in '70s: Anthony Cafaro Jr., assistant vice president of the Cafaro Corp., said the Great East Plaza had not received notification of the closing from Regal, so he could not comment on the corporation's plan for the space.
Cafaro said the theater has been a part of the plaza since it was constructed in the mid-1970s and was expanded twice, moving from a four-screen to a six-screen complex. Movieworld now occupies 23,000 square feet, he said.
The Knoxville, Tenn.-based Regal filed voluntary petitions for Chapter 11 reorganization Thursday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Nashville.
Regal announced its plans to file a month ago, put together a reorganization plan and submitted it to creditors for approval. The company said 95 percent of its creditors approved the plan.
Optimistic outlook: Michael Campbell, chairman and chief executive, said employees and guests of Regal's 328 remaining theaters won't notice any difference in operations as a result of the filing.
Campbell said Regal expects to emerge from the bankruptcy process "as a stronger, healthier, more efficient operation, and will remain a dominant presence in the exhibition industry."
Regal will have 3,700 screens and more than 300 locations nationwide after the reorganization, he said, which makes it the largest movie exhibitor in the country.
If the reorganization plan is accepted, Regal ownership will transfer from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & amp; Co. of New York and Hicks, Muse, Tate & amp; Furst Inc. of Dallas to a consortium led by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz.
Anschutz already owns the United Artists and Edwards theater chains. The reorganization is expected to take 60 to 90 days.