Smith Haven Mall Theatre

ya know i don’t wholly subscribe to the megaplex theory; if you’ve ever been to the Huntington Art Cinema, or remember it when it was even dinkier, and happen to see it when there’s a particularly interesting flick, people DO show up.
if the content’s there, i theorize that the people will come in droves.
on the other hand (as Tevya would say) you ARE correct. the megaplexes are alive and well and bustling. which proves to me that people are desperate to be entertained and don’t really care all that much about substance (sort of like the upcoming election! lol)

Vince, I totally agree, with you about the prices of movies, and the concession prices, etc.
However, it’s not that that killed the smaller movie theaters, it’s the megaplexes. Go to many of those (such as the Holtsville Island16 or the Stony Brook, the Ronkonkoma, etc), and you will see no shortage of people going to the movies or buying the over-priced popcorn. Movie-going is alive and well, it’s just that they are all going to the megaplexes.

agree li, i too hope to open a cinema one day.
The Smithhaven Mall was big and clunky and had a giant red curtain, and wonderful films like Splash and Logan’s Run, and Cuckoo’s Nest, and that western movie with James Caan who’s name i’ve forgotten (bertolucci i think directed it) and Judge Roy Bean and Bank shot, and a hundred wonderful memories. I miss it.

I like to blame the theaters less, and the crowds less, and put the problem squarely where it belongs…
The product is simply inferior (movies suck these days) AND the concession center rips people off. How can a family of 4 go to the movies anymore without severely testing their budget?
I’d like to go WATCH a movie, and not necessarily FINANCE the damn thing everytime i go.
In fact i’d go a step further – although this may be largely subjective….refund money if the movie is a bomb. Show better more well-crafted films and stop mugging people at the snack bar, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for success.

Anyway, good luck .

We would all like to see nice single theaters doing wellthat is why many of us are on this site and i hope one day soon to own my own single or twin.The mall never helped this theater late shows after 9:30 you could only come in and out of one mall door Holidays forget the theater was the only thing open and it was dead.Why did they keep it open so long 1. UA and Century were in it together for some years2. as a single the rent was so cheap with a 50 year lease ,when they multiplexed the rent was raised to current prices.3. It stayed open in the hopes it would be multiplexed that bought it about 5 years until all the permits and mall said it was ok.This was one of the last multiplexes of a century house soon after only new theaters went up.

Gustavelifting
I agree 100%, this theatre could still be open and making money. Smithtown and Nesconset are affluent areas and they could have booked this upscale and with art and independant films.

This theatre opened in 1968 with “If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belguim” which was on the United Artist Showcase. This theatre along with the Whitman, York, Morton Village and some others were co-owned with the United Artists Theatre Circuit, but Century operated. I worked at all locations and duplicate box office reports were made for each company. Century operated their theatres better than U.A..
Grosses at the Green Acres were good only when they had exclusive L.I. showings along with then open sister Plainview Theatre. The agreement between U.A. and Century came to an end when Almi acquired the Century Circuit in 1981.

i remember standing for 2 hours to see Rocky 2 at the Smithhaven theater. or the two hour walk from my house in the hot summer to bask in the cool air conditioning as i enjoyed That’s Entertainment or Logan’s Run.
the single theater was HUGE, normally less than half filled, and always a treat.
less known was another All-Weather Smithtown drive in and indoor theater practically across the street. to the east of the mall and nestled in the woods, this was where i first saw All the President’s Men, then walked home in the dark on a scary Halloween night…

cant even tell a theatre was here anymore/ such a shame never booked properly.

true GREEN ACRES IN THE 70s had great box office numbers.The LOEWS southshore mall a theater on long island that also did very poorly.

the green acres had some magnificent popcorn but some awful greasy countertops!

some dogs in malls SMITHHAVEN , UA MASSAPEQUA,WHITMAN (outside ),even in there hayday were weak theaters.

Century’s Green Acres did monster grosses in the old days as did Kings Plaza.

the fact that this theater closed saddens me. i saw logans run there, and bank shot, and cuckoo’s nest and rocky and judge roy bean and rambo and fiddler on the roof in 1971, and a host of wonderful indelible films and memories.
the neat thing about this theater was that it was possible to drop your kids off and shop the mall while they were safely tucked away in the theater. the last film i saw there was spy games, and the popcorn was still the best around, and the air conditioning felt great on a hot summer’s day. but the place was practically empty!
i used to walk 4 miles to this theater to catch “that’s entertainment”, then scout the mall and head home. what a wonderful place! sad that kids will no longer be able to enjoy it.
its a comment i think not so much on the theater’s owners or managers but on the incredibly crappy content coming out of hollywood. how can anyone maintain a quality viable theater with the spotty, non-escapist fare they have now?? i took my nephew to the holtsville island 16 this weekend and there was hardly anything a 12 year and an adult even wanted to see!! the drive to see great movies is there – the quality and content has packed up and left town. And the great Century theater at the Smithhaven Mall – and the Jerry Lewis theater and Ronkonkoma theater (when it showed family fare) are among its many victims.