2 RI Movie Theaters Close Permanently After Coronavirus Closures

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, RI — Two Rhode Island movie theaters will not reopen following the coronavirus pandemic. Both Entertainment Cinemas in South Kingstown and the Showcase Cinemas at the Warwick Mall will not reopen, according to their respective owners.

The pandemic made it "economically impossible to reopen," Entertainment Cinemas, which operates South Kingstown Cinemas 8, wrote in a post on Facebook Tuesday afternoon.

"We would like to thank all of our loyal patrons for the many years you have supported our theater," the post said. "Thank you for your patronage and stay safe."

The Warwick theater, meanwhile, is no longer shown on the list of Showcase Cinema locations in Rhode Island. Two Showcase locations remain in Rhode Island: the theater inside the Providence Place Mall and the Quaker Lane location just down the road from the shuttered Warwick Mall site.

The general manager of the Warwick Mall said the location, which is tucked behind the mall, decided not to renew its lease at the end of April, WPRI reported.

South County residents will have a harder time finding somewhere to see movies, however. Following the closure of the Wakefield theater, Yelp shows that the closest movie theater is Island Cinemas 10 in Middletown, or the aforementioned Showcase Cinema in Warwick.