The theaters at the Movies at Cranberry have been a stable fixture of the Cranberry Mall for years, but now the complex is in imminent danger of closing due to factors such as the pandemic, lease expiration and significantly fewer patrons.
The theater posted the news on its Facebook page last week and thanked movie goers for their patronage for the past 15 years.
The Movies at Cranberry took over operations of the mall cinemas back in April 2007 after the renovated movie complex reopened following a closure of about six months.
“We have shown over 600 different movies and watched a whole generation of kids grow up to be adults,” the Facebook post said. “It has been an honor to be a gathering place for Venango County and the communities of Oil City and Franklin.”
The theater, which currently employs 10 people, contributes a sizable share of the mall’s rental income.
The mall property was auctioned off in November by California-based real estate group Keller Williams of Beverly Hills to Toronto-based Dundas Real Estate Investments.
The sale is waiting to close, according to commercial real estate site Ten-X.
Margery Lintz, general manager of the theater, said “we need the community to decide whether they want a theater and if they want one, they need to visit us. Our lease expires December 31 (today) and we have not heard from the new owners yet. There’s only so much you can do and so many bills. If I get a call from my boss that says we need to get out, we get out.”
Lintz said attendance has dropped significantly since the pandemic. The theater has gone from 5,000 to 6,000 attendees per month down to about 1,500 to 2,000 patrons a month.
John Goldstein, who owns the Movies at Cranberry as well as the Movies at Meadville, said “we’re running under 40% the level we were running before COVID. We can’t afford to stay.”
Goldstein added that other theaters are back to 70-80%, but in rural areas that number is much lower.
“We’ve shown the landlord the numbers. We’ve held on as long as we could, dipping into our personal savings to keep funding the business,” he said.
“They didn’t offer us a new lease. I think they want the rent (amount) we are contractually obligated to pay before COVID, and they don’t want to modify it,” he said. “We can’t afford the rent that they want and (due to current circumstances) we owe them some rent already.”
Jeff Clark, the mall’s assistant property manager, told the newspaper in September that he expects the property “will still be a mall, primarily because of the leases,” after the ownership transfer.
At that time he estimated there were “about 16 or 17 tenants” of the 92 available units, which contrasts from the commercial listing information stating it has 43.4% occupancy.
Clark could not be reached for comments for this story.
Goldstein made clear that responses from the current landlord and broker to questions he has asked have been vague.
“My worry is that there will be a new owner who will want a movie theater in the mall but that’s not what we’re being told,” Goldstein said. “We can’t afford to stay and I don’t have anyone to negotiate a new deal with. Nobody understands what they’re trying to do. I’m disappointed we couldn’t find some common ground to make some kind of deal,” he added.
The theater, which has five screens and a total of 720 seats, employs 50% fewer people than its pre-pandemic numbers and is just getting by. Lintz wrote on social media that just a specialty lightbulb for the theater costs between $800 to $1,000.
The decision on whether to close or remain open is expected in the next 30-60 days, Lintz says.
The theater is currently playing four movies — “Avatar — The Way of Water,” “Puss In Boots — The Last Wish”, “Whitney Houston — I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and “Babylon”, a story about early Hollywood ambition and decadence.
Lintz, who has worked at the theater for more than 17 years, asked, “Is it too late for a Christmas miracle?”
Goldstein said he has no ill will toward the landlord, but he added “I just don’t get it. I’ve been transparent about the economic reality. If you guys want this theater you need to come out and support it.”
