EAST LYME, Conn. — Another local business is permanently closing its doors due to a recent decline in attendance and the changes to the industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The owners of Niantic Cinema 5 shared in a Facebook post on Monday that after much thought, they have decided to close.
“During the covid19 pandemic film studios launched their own streaming services which now are how the majority of the public enjoys movies,” the post said. “Along with the decline in attendance our operating costs have skyrocketed.”
The cinema will honor refunds on passes and gift cards through January 15, 2023.
Niantic Cinema, located on Main Street in Niantic, was an independently owned theater. It temporarily shut its doors in September, citing a lack of quality films.
The current owner, George Mitchell, told The Day newspaper on Monday that they had done a lot of soul-searching and analyzing how they could keep their doors open but it was “hopeless really.”
“Things change, and I can accept that,” he told the newspaper. “We’re in a different world now. Young adults especially are happy to watch a movie on a 3-by-6 screen held in their hand. And then you have the 70-inch screens people have in their home theaters.”
The theater first opened in 1951.
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