Fox Theatre
1660 US Highway 22 East,
Union,
NJ
07083
1660 US Highway 22 East,
Union,
NJ
07083
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Cineplex Odeon, Mann Theatres, National General Theatres
Functions: Arcade, Restaurant
Nearby Theaters
The Fox Theatre was located on Route 22 East in Union, New Jersey. It had 1,200 seats and a huge wall to wall screen. The Fox Theatre opened December 19, 1969 with “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”. “Easy Rider” was the next attraction. Although the theatre was new and modern, it had an erractic booking policy and for every “Butch Cassidy” there was a slew of “B” movies (“The Happy Hooker”, “The Omega Man”).
In the mid-1970’s National General took over ownership and in the late-1970’s Cineplex Odeon. Except for an exclusive run of “Star Wars” in 1977, the theatre suffered from generally poor film booking. In the middle of its run of “An Officer and a Gentleman” in 1982 the theatre closed. It was gutted a short time later and now survives as a Chuck E. Cheese.
Contributed by
Richard Rettino
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
The Fox may have had an area exclusive of “Star Wars” but they had not yet installed Dolby Stereo so they were running it in 35mm mono. I recall going with a friend who had not yet made the trek up to Paramus to see it in 70mm and despite the large screen the difference was palpable. Had the owners sprung for improved sonics, those of us who frequently made pilgrimages up North might have paid to see it closer to home. I also recall seeing “Poseidon Adventure” and John Carpenter’s “The Fog” there. I peeked into the Chuck E. Cheese once and it was thoroughly depressing.
I also saw “Star Wars” there after seeing it at Paramus, and wished they had at least gotten Dolby, never mind upgrading to 70mm (the screen was certainly large enough that 70mm capability wouldn’t have been a bad idea, either). Sorry to see it go—and even more sorry to see it turn into a Chuck E. Cheese!
This address, 1660 US Route 22 makes google map it properly
This theatre was smaller than its sister twin, the Fox in Woodbridge, N.J. which had seating for almost 1700. Both theatres opened at the same time, but the Woodbridge location closed sooner, on Feb 2, 1979.
Saw “Star Wars” here and then “Star Trek II) five years later – and then it closed. Too bad, but there’s really only one way to get into the lot (as it stands now).
Correction to above history comment. The National General Theatre chain was sold to Mann Theatres in the early 70’s. That’s when The Fox was sold to Cineplex. Previous to Mann buying out the National General chain, it had been operated by Fox East Coast Theatres, then National General.
In early 1974 Mann Theatres moved it’s Eastern Division office here from 300 Madison Ave. in NYC.
This opened on December 19th, 1969. Grand opening ad in the photo section.
The Chuck E. Cheese’s That Formerly Sat The Fox Theatre Was Closed After A 14 Year Run Since November 24th, 2019. Formerly Union Had A Chuck E. Cheese’s Near Downtown Union That Operated From August 2nd, 1984 Until 2003.