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A sign appeared on the door of the Regal Cinemas in Lanesborough on Monday stating the 10-screen movie theater is closed permanently.

Regal Cinemas at Berkshire Mall Closes Permanently

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Regal Cinemas at the Berkshire Mall has permanently closed, according to a sign posted on its door.

It's not clear when the sign was posted but the phone no longer works as of Tuesday and residents were posting images of the sign on Monday. There are two Facebook pages for the 10-theater cinema, both of which state that it is open.

The sign on the door states:  "This location has been permanently closed. All ticket sales will be refunded.  If you have any questions please contact Regal through their Twitter or Facebook page, or Contact Us on regmovies.com. We apologize for the inconvenience."

Looking inside through the window, it is clear that the theater is shuttered. It had been using a door that goes directly into the Regal lobby rather than the mall food court entrance just feet away because the mall has been closed for more than two years. 

iBerkshires was not able to reach a representative from Regal but has left messages at the corporate office. An email connected to the Lanesborough cinema no longer works. The Regal website still lists one movie screening this weekend. 

Last year, mall owner Durga Property Holdings handed over property and management decisions to consultation agency Bedi & Associates. New and former tenants were expected to be in the mall by late 2021 along with needed repairs to the facility after sitting vacant since 2019.

Similar to Target, Regal owns its property within the mall located at Old State Road and Route 8.

Regal is part of the international Cineworld Group that operates nearly 800 theaters in 10 countries. The bulk of those theaters, 527, are located in the United States. Regal is the second-largest theater chain in the nation and has 10 locations in Massachusetts. Only two were in Western Mass, in Lanesborough and Springfield. 
 
The international group reported operating losses of $209 million at the end of last year's second quarter but indicated attendance and concession sales growth in the past two quarters. 
 
The mall location's closure doesn't seem indicative of a widespread reorganizing but there have been scattered instances of permanent closings over the past two years. The closest recent closing is a theater in Branford, Conn., at the beginning of the year. 
 
Theaters have had a rough time during the pandemic, opening and closing based public health regulations and film availability. Regal closed all of its theaters between October 2020 and April 2021. More recently, North Adams MoviePlex 8 shut down for the past week because of a "lack of new releases and staff levels," according to its Facebook page. It's expected to reopen this Friday with five movies, including new release "Moonfall."

Tags: closure,   movie theater,   

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Pittsfield Firefighters Battle Early Morning Blaze in Extreme Cold

iBerkshires.com Staff
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – No injuries were reported after firefighters extinguished a fire in a two-story detached barn and garage at 566 South St. early Sunday morning.
 
The Pittsfield Fire Department just after 2 a.m. responded to reports of a building “fully involved” with the blaze.
 
“All personnel battled the blaze under extreme cold conditions with the main body of fire being brought under control within an hour,” according to a news release from the department.
 
The two-alarm fire brought all on-duty personnel to the scene, where they remained until about 6 a.m. to extinguish all remaining hot spots.
 
Hinsdale Fire Department was asked to respond with its firefighter rehab bus “due to the extreme cold conditions,” according to the news release.
 
There are three residences within 100 feet of the barn, but none were in danger during the fire, Deputy Chief Neil Myers said in the release.
 
The owner’s residence was not damaged in the blaze.
 
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