Ogden’s Cine Pointe 6, impacted by the pandemic, closes its doors permanently
The exterior of the Cine Pointe 6 theater in Ogden on Monday, May 17, 2021. Theater operators announced Saturday, May 15, 2021, on Facebook that the theater was "closing permanently."
The exterior of the Cine Pointe 6 theater in Ogden on Monday, May 17, 2021. Theater operators announced Saturday, May 15, 2021, on Facebook that the theater was "closing permanently."
OGDEN — Cine Pointe 6, a discount theater in Ogden, has closed, an apparent casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Hi everyone, it’s my sad duty to tell you that the theater is closing permanently. I wish it wasn’t so. Thanks for all the great times and memories,” the business said in a post on Saturday on its Facebook page.
Company reps didn’t immediately respond to queries from the Standard-Examiner on Monday seeking comment. Whatever the case, the news was met with an outpouring of sadness from many. The second-run theater is located at 151 E. 12th St.
“So sad. Thank you SO much for all of the great memories. I will never forget lining up with all of the other Star Wars nerds to see the prequels. I wish there was something we could do to save Cine Pointe 6,” said one Facebook poster, responding to the news.
Saturday’s post was the first on the Cine Pointe 6 Facebook page since Sept. 22 last year, when theater operators gave an indication of the tough times the business was facing. The theater had operated last summer, but crowd sizes were apparently small. Richard Crowley of North Salt Lake is the theater’s registered agent, according to online Utah business records.
“We tried to open for a while to see if it was a good time to do so,” reads the Sept. 22 post. “We appreciated all those who came out to see our retro movie festival. Unfortunately, the attendance was way down and did not make it possible to stay open. Also with COVID-19 still out there people are pretty much staying away from theaters as a whole.”
The post indicated that operators at the time had hoped to reopen the locale. But it also noted the pressures and delays movie studios have faced due to the pandemic.
Theaters across the country, like many businesses, have suffered due to the pandemic and guidelines restricting social gatherings.
“Most theaters, concert halls and cinemas were shuttered for at least a year and television and film production halted for months, leading to hundreds of thousands of layoffs and large sums of money lost,” reads a March 30 report on the entertainment industry by USC News. That’s the news site of the University of Southern California, which operates one of the nation’s leading film schools.
With more people at home, streaming services benefitted, the report noted, and the shift to watching movies at home could stick. Theaters, another expert said, would stick around, but serve a more niche audience.