AMC is close to taking over the Pacific Theatres locations at two popular Los Angeles shopping malls, a source confirmed to Variety on Tuesday.
Pacific Theatres, founded in 1946, announced in April that it would not be reopening its 17 locations as pandemic restrictions loosened. That includes a half dozen Pacific locations and 11 ArcLight locations in Southern California and across the country.
Pacific operated the theaters at the Grove shopping complex in the Fairfax neighborhood and the Americana at Brand in Glendale. On Tuesday, ticketing websites showed two new theater locations in the city: “AMC The Americana 18” and “AMC The Grove 14.” Those locations were later scrubbed from the AMC app and website.
Both malls are owned by Caruso, the real estate firm headed by Rick J. Caruso. A spokesperson for Caruso declined to comment.
“We don’t have any new information to share at this time,” she said.
AMC also declined to comment.
AMC CEO Adam Aron had previously said that the chain — which is enjoying a tailwind thanks to a meme-fueled stock frenzy — would be interested in picking up some of the Pacific locations. Several other operators are also interested in picking up some of the ArcLight locations, some of which are among the best performing locations in the region.
Pacific’s parent company, the Decurion Corporation, owns the land at only two of its theaters, in Chatsworth and in Hollywood. Variety reported earlier on Tuesday that industry insiders expect Decurion CEO Chris Forman to refurbish and reopen the ArcLight Hollywood and its iconic Cinerama Dome, while jettisoning the chain.
Pacific is facing lawsuits regarding eight of its locations, including ones in Bethesda, Md., San Diego, Sherman Oaks, Chicago and Boston. In Boston, the company is being sued by its general contractor for $3.5 million in uncompensated cost overruns. The remaining lawsuits allege that the company breached its lease obligations to pay rent.