Regal Paseo in Pasadena now open following 2020 Arclight Cinema closure

After more than three years with no showings, the big screen is back on at The Paseo in Pasadena.

The Regal Paseo, which in April announced it leased The Paseo’s former Arclight Cinema location, officially opened for business Thursday, June 1.

“We are excited to announce the opening of Regal Paseo, providing a true entertainment destination for moviegoers in Pasadena,” said Mooky Greidinger, CEO of Cineworld, Regal’s parent company.

“As we bring movies back to the big screen at The Paseo, we look forward to updating this already great theatre with the latest innovations to the moviegoing experience including 4DX and ScreenX auditoriums opening in the near future.”

The Arclight was shut down by coronavirus restrictions at the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 and within a year announced it would permanently close.

When the Arclight opened its third location in 2010, taking over what was a Pacific Theaters, business and civic leaders hailed it as a boon for the city that would draw in new visitors to the three-block mall whose stores rely on consistent foot traffic.

Now they hope The Paseo’s Regal rebrand will similarly entice new crowds to the city’s civic center which since the pandemic has seen its visitors dwindle.

“It’s great that Regal is taking over the theater,” said Paul Little, Pasadena Chamber of Commerce president. “Pasadena has a huge appetite for entertainment and Paseo and the tenants there will definitely benefit from the reopening.”

The opening comes as Cineworld hopes to emerge next month from bankruptcy proceedings it filed last September, and following bouts of dozens of its theater closures in the U.S. and U.K.