Nashville has lost nearly half its screens since May

posted by CSWalczak on September 28, 2010 at 7:53 am

NASHVILLE, TN — Floods in May and a recent August theater closing have nearly cut in half the number of operating theater screens in the Nashville area. The flood victims were the Regal Opry Mills 20 & IMAX and Regal Bellevue Cinema 12. The Carmike Bell Forge 10 closed in August and is slated to become an Islamic Center. Regal had planned major renovations for the Bellevue Cinema 12 prior to the flood, but now appears to be non-committal about the theater’s future.

That has left a city that once had more than 100 movie screens down to just over 50 at about a half-dozen major movie theaters. A total of 43 screens are out of commission.

Meanwhile, Regal’s move to buy the Bellevue property comes as it announced it was adding giant screens with an all-digital format called the Regal Premium Experience in three new locations. The concept already exists in New York City and Miami.

There is more in the Tennessean.

Theaters in this post

• Bellevue Cinema 12
• Bell Forge 10 Cinema
• Regal Opry Mills 20 & IMAX