BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) — The mainstay of movie theaters in the Boca Raton area is closing, and will likely remain closed forever. Regal — which owns the Shadowood theater at Glades and U.S. 441 — is closing all of its 500 theaters in the United States. Regal’s overseas holdings are also expected to cease operations.
Financial media reports the delay of the latest James Bond movie was the final straw. Like most municipalities across the United States, Palm Beach County prohibited movie theaters from opening until just a few week ago as the COVID-19 pandemic spread. Even when theaters were permitted to open, audiences remained small. High-profile productions — like Bond — were considered the only way to lure people back. With Bond delayed until at least spring of 2021, opening apparently seemed futile.
Theatergoers enjoyed Regal Shadowood for its constant feeling of being trapped in a day gone by. Even when the theater installed full recliner seats — like the newer iPic in Boca and Delray, and an upgraded Cinemark near the Boca Raton airport— Shadowood maintained a sense of 1980’s charm. The arcade games, the permanently stained carpet, the dated wall hangings, and the dimly lit entrance ways all seemed to rebuff the modern moviegoing experience.
All Regal Cinema locations are expected to close. Locally, that also includes Regal Cypress Creek Station in Fort Lauderdale, Regal Magnolia Place in Coral Springs, Regal Sawgrass and Imax in Sunrise, Regal Royal Palm Beach and Regal Royal Cinemas in Royal Palm Beach, Regal Broward in Plantation, Regal Westfork in Pembroke Pines, and Regal Oakwood in Hollywood.
Wow, how sad.