Concord's Regal Cinema, One Of 39 To Close, Starting In February

CONCORD, NH — The Regal Concord 10 movie theater will be closing its doors soon, according to published reports.

Business Insider reported Cineworld Group, the parent company of Regal Cinemas, will be rejecting leases at 39 theaters effective Feb. 15, including at its 10-screen theater on Loudon Road.

The building on Loudon Road is owned by Hoyt Cinemas, a company connected to the Cineworld Group. The 9-acre parcel is owned by Readco Concord LLC, out of Old Lyme, Connecticut. The combined assessed value of the properties is around $4 million, according to the city's online assessment information.

The closings are part of a bankruptcy filing by Cineworld, which told the court Tuesday that the closings would save the company $22 million a year while it continues to work with landlords to preserve other theaters.

The Regal Cinema on Technology Drive in Hooksett will remain open. In May 2020, after the pandemic, the company announced it would be opening a new theatre at the Market and Main project on South River Road in Bedford.

The movie theatre industry continues to struggle in the aftermath of the pandemic, which saw a shift by Hollywood studios to streaming and VOD releases.

Cineworld, which operates more than 9,000 screens across 10 countries and employs around 28,000 people, declared bankruptcy in September, citing a challenging economic environment for movie theaters brought on by the pandemic and high debt stemming from its $3.6 billion purchase of Regal just before the pandemic.