Have a news tip for us?
Just email . Ideas for stories, links to interesting articles, and press releases are welcome.
Larchmont, NY - Petition Urges Regal Cinemas to Lift Restrictions on Larchmont Playhouse Purchase
posted by
ThrHistoricalSociety
on
January 14, 2017 at 11:59 am
From Larchmont Patch: An online petition trying to facilitate the reopening of the Larchmont Playhouse has been posted on change.org.
According to a Larchmont resident, Ellen Zuckert, who has been leading the effort to save the movie house, Regal Cinemas can prevent future owners of the Playhouse from screening first-run films, making it nearly impossible to exist as a sustainable business, the Daily Voice said.
Michael DiCosimo, a movie industry pro, signed a contract worth about $1.3 million last year to buy the iconic movie house on Palmer Avenue.
In the petition, posted by Elizabeth Bradley of Larchmont, Regal became the owner of the Playhouse when it absorbed United Artists Cinema, and then sold it in 2015.
A 15-year restrictive clause was created at the time of the sale that established an anti-competition clause, among other things. Regal Cinemas has movie theaters in nearby New Roc City in New Rochelle.
The petition states that, if the clause isn’t removed by Jan. 16, DiCosimo can walk away from the deal.
Story link: http://patch.com/new-york/larchmont/petition-urges-regal-cinemas-lift-restrictions-larchmont-playhouse-purchase
ABOUT THEATRE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA: Founded by Ben Hall in 1969, the Theatre Historical Society of America (THS) celebrates, documents and promotes the architectural, cultural and social relevance of America’s historic theatres. Through its preservation of the collections in the American Theatre Architecture Archive, its signature publication Marquee™ and Conclave Theatre Tour, THS increases awareness, appreciation and scholarly study of America’s theatres.
Learn more about historic theatres in the THS American Theatre Architecture Archives and on our website at historictheatres.org
Comments (3)
What the guy should do is run first run product anyway and let Regal sue them. The resultant bad press from the uproar of the people would force Regal to allow first run there. Another way around it is to say the original “entity” United Artists Theaters no longer exists so this clause is no longer valid.
I believe the clause was put in place by Regal, not UA. I would think that if the owners took Regal to court and charged that they (Regal) were in effect conspiring to interfere with the new owners business success and that any competition they would generate would be negligible to a company the size of Regal the agreement could be voided. But of course this would cost a lot of money. Probably a better way would be to set public opinion against Regal thereby forcing them to drop the clause.
I don’t get it. On Times Square Regal’s E-Walk and AMC’s Empire show many of the same films and they are literally across the street from each other. What is Regal afraid of?