Today, I discovered some very tragic news for myself. The main movie theaters that I’ve gone to the most for at least the last decade has now been closed. That theater I’m talkin about is Regal Gravois Bluffs Stadium 12.
It was a theater that opened in December of 2008 in the Gravois Bluffs area, which is surrounded by multiple shopping markets. It was the second time that Great Escape added a theater in the St. Louis area and was eventually taken over by Regal in 2012. It contained upwards of 12 screens and 2,150 seats, all in crisp black leather, with digital sound and production both in 2D and 3D. It was a theater that mostly consists of the very big blockbuster pictures that were set to come out during those exact initial weekends with an occasional smaller film release a week or two after being out in other, bigger theaters. By no means was it the biggest or greatest theater ever but it was one I could rely on to see the newest big movie with the cheapest price, and that’s not even including Regal Unlimited subscription.
However, that seemed to have come to an end. It’s been reported that the theater itself closed to the public on September 25, 2022. If the information I read is accurate, it’s because Gravois was one of the 20 Regal theaters that was approved from the higher ups for lease relief in a bankruptcy maneuver by the Regal company. Most of those theaters were closed a week or two prior but some remained open in the hopes of a miraculous turnaround. That never came to pass and there was virtually no chance of theater operations heading into October.
What is oddly strange about this though is that there was an early screening of The Greatest Beer Run Ever played at Gravois Bluffs on September 26th, the day after it closed to the public, which I attended. My best guess is that was most likely approved by Regal since that was a mostly booked screening where all the seats were filled a few weeks prior. Because of that, Regal decided to allow one more screening and avoid giving out refunds. After that, I don’t think there has been any more theater showings since then.
I don’t know if all of this information is accurate but I do know the fact that the theater is closed. They stop showing screenings for that theaters on the Regal App and a drive up there today showed a place that looks deserted and everything was taken down. I can’t say for certain that this will remain permeant but I’m willing to be it is and aren’t likely to see that theater re-open anytime soon. It was a miracle to see it opening again after Covid but now, it’s likely gone forever.
I still do have at least two other theaters in my area close to me that I can go to for future movies. However, it will be a longer drive to get there, usually taking another extra five to ten minutes for me after passing Gravois Bluffs. Also, since they are both Weinberg theaters and not Regal, that would make it more expensive for me since I won’t be able to use Regal Unlimited and Weinberg doesn’t have a subscription system like that I’m aware of. They still have great deals with morning screenings and half-price Tuesdays along with a handful of early advance screenings but going to theaters will be more expensive for me than the past two to three years. Because of that, I will most likely have to limited my budget for seeing movies in cinema and reserve them for ones that I really want or have to see in theaters.
Granted, these are two movies that I still go to on occasion. They are mostly ones I reserved for smaller films that aren’t being showing at Gravois or ones that look like could use some extra money for me. And I’m even willing to admit I enjoy the seats, concession, and experience more than I did of the previous theater. But, I always found the Regal theater to be more cheaper, advanced, and more reliable than the other two theaters I go too. However, that is all about to change.
I still plan to see movies in theaters and even do reviews/articles on ones that I see. But, I don’t think movie theater going can be as much of a hobby for me as it is was before or something I can have the same nostalgic feeling of now that the theater I’ve gone to the most times is now closed.
Guess all good things have to come to an end.
So long partner!
RIP Regal Gravois Bluffs
December 17, 2008-September 26, 2022
And here’s some brief into I read about the theater and why it closed.
Other comments:
- I wanted to take a picture of the closed theater for this article but I was honestly too sad too and just decide to take one last drive past there and try to soak in all the memories I had at that local theater.
- I remember writing a post about Regal Cinema closing on here for my writing course back in 2020. I went into detail about how the theater closings due to Covid could eventually lead to certain movie theaters closing for good. Why did the cinema gods let me be right for once?
- Here’s link to that btw: https://adamr.website/2020/10/08/all-regal-cinemas-across-the-united-states-closed-on-october-8th-until-further-notice/
- I still think my overall favorite movie going experiences there had to be Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. They might be all Marvel features and not necessarily my all-time favorite movies but I’ll never forget the experience I had watching those on opening nights with a packed crowd and witnessing all of the reactions from those all around me. That is what going to the theaters is all about! I’ll certainly miss that there!
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