Jennifer Jones planned to spend her Thursday watching “The Beekeeper” at her neighborhood movie theater, Cinema Chatham.
But when she walked up to the longtime theater at 210 W. 87th St on Wednesday for the noon showing, she was shocked to discover it was closed — permanently.
“It’s just sad that every time we have something nice, it just goes down,” Jones said. “I guess I’m going to have to go to another one. It’s going to be a long ways away.”
Jones wasn’t the only one hoping to spend her afternoon at the movie theater. Over a dozen cars drove by within 10 minutes Wednesday, some stopping to inquire about the status of the business.
A posted sign said, “We extend our heartfelt gratitude for your unwavering support and patronage. It has been a pleasure serving you.”
Emagine Entertainment, the theater’s parent company, said financial difficulties led to the closure.
“The decision comes as a result of the business at this specific location no longer being economically viable. When our franchise partner reopened the theatre in 2021, they were hopeful they could continue to carry on the legacy of serving this community, so we understand that this news may be disheartening,” Anthony LaVerde, CEO of Emagine, said in a statement.
Jerome Orr, a manager at Cinema Chatham, said the theater’s final day was Sunday, but he didn’t know that until Monday.
“We couldn’t sustain the financial burden, there just weren’t enough moviegoers,” Orr told the Sun-Times. “Post-pandemic, a lot of movie theaters are still trying to compete with streaming networks.”
The location originally opened as a movie theater in 1997 and changed ownership several times over the years, according to Cinema Treasures, an online guide to movie theaters. It reopened in 2021 as Cinema Chatham after the longtime previous tenant, Studio Movie Grill, closed, Block Club Chicago reported.
Whenever she wanted “to see something good,” Jones said she would go to the Chatham theater. But the spot wasn’t without its faults, she noted.
“I noticed that it needed to be cleaned. The carpet was not clean,” she said. “The bathrooms, they just weren’t kept [clean].”
Film lovers who frequented the theater lamented the longer commute to the nearest movie theaters, AMC Ford City 14 in Ashburn, 7 miles away. The only other South Side theater is Harper Theater in Hyde Park.
Ald. Ronnie Mosley, whose 21st Ward has been home to Cinema Chatham, said the need for a theater there hasn’t gone away.
“It’s hard because … you have an operator that really gave their best, tried to extend and stay in business the best they can,” Mosley said Wednesday. “My first attempt is to reopen that theater.”
Bobby Macker went to see “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé” at the theater Jan. 20. He said he wondered if there were signs pointing to its closure.
Macker, 36, said that night he noticed surprisingly few people at the theater. A ticket attendant wasn’t at the front, and he had to buy his ticket at the concessions stand. Other issues followed.
“The movie was supposed to start at 7 p.m, but maybe at 7:30 somebody came in and told us, ‘Hey, I’m gonna get it going, but right now it doesn’t look like it’s playing,” Macker said. “Then at 7:45, she comes back and says we gotta go from the auditorium theater one to theater seven, because it’s playing over there.”
The employee came in later to bring his group free hot dogs but didn’t offer an explanation. Macker and his friends decided to write a review about their experience online.
Other Chatham residents, like Chris Bolden, were shocked to hear about the closure.
Bolden had hoped to see “Renaissance” Thursday.
“This has been around forever,” he said of the theater. “They had real good popcorn.”
Despite his last experience at the theater, Macker is upset that neighborhood spots have closed. Residents were shocked when the Chatham Walmart closed unexpectedly in April. The neighborhood’s Marshalls also closed last year, according to Chicago Business Journal.
“We continue to lose these places,” he said. “I’m just outdone. I miss Walmart, I miss Marshalls, and now I’m gonna miss the theater.”
