Another Movie Theater Complex Bites the Dust

EAST NAPLES, FL-The shutdown of an 18,955-sf Regal theater complex will leave a big hole in the tenant lineup at the 109,372-sf Naples Towne Centre. The 1980s vintage shopping center, owned by the RMC Konover Property Trust, has had very few vacancies until now, according to ownership’s regional office in Tampa.

Regal, the country’s largest film exhibitor with more than 4,400 screens in 420 locations, has been suffering financially from overscreening, as have many of its competitors. The industry added some 12,000 screens in the past five years. The country’s current inventory of 36,000 screens is thought by many observers to be 10,000 too many.

However, the local Regal closing may also have something to do with the recent opening of a 12-screen Regal in nearby Bonita Springs. A tenant is now being sought for the older cinema. Property management concedes finding a theater owner to take over the space will probably be difficult in the current competitive climate.