Regal Keauhou Stadium 7 in Kona on list to close due to Cineworld’s bankruptcy

In a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on Tuesday, Cineworld detailed the plan to reject the leases starting in February of 39 of its more than 500 Regal theaters across the United States. The list includes the Regal Keauhou Stadium 7 in Kailua-Kona.

It is the only theater on the chopping block that is located in the state of Hawaiʻi.

A co-manager at the Keauhou Stadium 7 said Friday that the theater has “not been notified” yet by the corporate office about closing.

“We saw the list and we saw the news, but no we have not been notified,” the co-manager said. She declined to provide her name because information about the company is required to go through company headquarters.

A phone call to Regal Theaterʻs corporate headquarters was not immediately returned.

For now, the co-manager of Keauhou Stadium 7 said the theatre will continue to operate. Today, it is showing “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” and “Missing.”

If the Regal Keauhou Stadium closes, it would leave Kona with only one movie theater, which also is a Regal theater: The Regal Makalapua on Kamakaeha Avenue.

Cineworld, the parent company of Regal Theaters, already has closed a dozen other theaters after announcing it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September. 

Regal is the second-largest cinema chain in the country, behind AMC.

The Chapter 11 process makes it easier for companies to walk away from leases without incurring major penalties or to renegotiate leases.

Cineworld told the court it expects to save about $22 million a year in the closures, according to Business Insider.

Cineworld filed for bankruptcy at a time when movie theaters are struggling to fully rebound from the pandemic, which forced the longtime temporary closure of many theaters, including both Regal theaters in Kona.