ArcLight movie theaters in Lincoln Park, Glenview won’t reopen

The chain that owns the ArcLight Cinemas multiplexes in Lincoln Park and Glenview announced Monday that its theaters, closed for more than a year, will stay shut for good.

“This was not the outcome anyone wanted,” said a statement on the website of parent company Pacific Theatres, “but despite a huge effort that exhausted all potential options, the company does not have a viable way forward.”

ArcLight theaters closed in March 2020, expressing hope at the time that it would welcome back patrons once the country “made it past the current health crisis.” While other movie chains made short-lived attempts at reopening last year, and many now are back in business under the capacity limitations imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, ArcLight has kept its doors shut nonstop.

It’s the latest blow for movie fans in the Chicago market, where AMC announced the permanent closure of its Navy Pier Imax screen and Cinemark shut down its multiplexes in Evanston and Bloomingdale.

ArcLight also operated six sites in the Los Angeles market as well as locations in Boston and the San Diego and Washington, D.C., areas.