Franklincountynow.com Staff Report
(GREENFIELD) – The Greenfield Garden Cinema which closed January 10th is now scheduled to reopen March 26th. Covid19 restrictions for movie theaters have dramatically changed in recent weeks with Governor Baker removing the evening curfew and raising capacity limits to 50%.
Recent good news has not come in time to save many regional theaters, Zycorp Entertainment which operated eight Cinemagic theaters and 91 screens in New England announced last week that it would be permanently closing. The Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and the Hampden County Courthouse is now looking as space abandoned by Cinemark in the Eastfield Mall in order to hold jury trials. The Greenfield Garden Cinema is poised to light the lights once again this month.
Garden Cinema owner Isaac Mass says “It is incredibly hard right now to keep movie theaters alive.” The Small Business Administration which is in charge of administering Shuttered Venue Operator Grants passed on December 21, 2020 still has not released even a draft application. “If we see anything before May, I will be really surprised.” says Mass. The Garden Cinema was ineligible for a $75,000 sector-specific grant program through the Commonwealth of Massachusetts because the entity to take over the 91 year old theater was formed in August of 2019 so the theater was considered a new business. Mass says the theater has lost almost half a million dollars in revenue due to the Covid19 . “While we have cut all the costs we can, we have had to pour in a ton of our personal savings to save this theater, but we know it can come back.”
“We are counting on patrons to keep us going,” says co-owner Angela Mass “more and more people are getting vaccinated and we think they will feel more comfortable coming back at the end of March.” Isaac Mass says internal industry polling shows “80% of the public will be ready to come back as soon as they are vaccinated.” Tom & Jerry which was projected by BoxOffice Magazine open at $5.6 Million actually took 2.45 times projections despite being released day and date on HBO Max.
Isaac Mass says the release schedule looks good for opening weekend. Universal’s action thriller Nobody starring Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul) opens March 26th followed by Warner Brothers gargantuan film King Kong vs. Godzilla mid-week on the 31st. Mass says details are not yet finalized, but the Garden Cinemas will be presenting the World Theatrical Premiere of sci-fi film First Signal partially filmed pre-pandemic at the airport in nearby Orange, Massachusetts. First Signal just completed a tour on the all virtual 2020 pandemic festival circuit and was an official selection of 27 festivals winning 16 different awards. Director Mark Lund, judge from TV’s Skating with the Celebrities is expected to be on site for the opening along with many of the cast and crew. “We can’t wait to announce the details of our Grand re-opening” says Angela Mass.