Residents reflect on Regal Cinemas looming closure

The CNMI will be losing its lone cinema and local movie watchers shared with Marianas Press their sentiments about Regal Cinemas rolling its end credits at month’s end.

Galvin Deleon Guerrero said he himself is guilty of not watching the movies at Hollywood Theaters, the official of the multi-screen cinema complex.

“As a filmmaker and a cinephile, this is a sad day. There is something truly unifying about the collective experience of enjoying a good story on the big screen with an audience. I fear we lose that, and a bit of our humanity and empathy, when we resort to the isolated and atomized entertainment on our digital devices.”

As for his most memorable time at the cinema, Deleon Guerrero said it would certainly be about his favorite franchise—Star Wars.

“I have watched every Star Wars film since Episode II: Attack of the Clones first screened at Hollywood Theaters and have screened many films of my own there. It will be missed dearly and I hope that all is not lost and that perhaps a new owner will emerge, a New Hope, if you will.”

Another Star Wars fan, Edward Dela Cruz Jr., also sad that Regal Cinemas will be dimming its marquee by April 30.

“It’s disappointing and I wish the company the best. My fondest memory was the duel between myself and grand master, Dr. Deleon Guerrero who will be the first in line prime time for Star Wars movies starting with Force Awakens in 2015. I defeated him the first year. After that never again. he proved he was the undisputed Star Wars faithful in the CNMI. If we resume this duel looks like we must take it to Guam. It’ll be sad because movie theaters are one of the fondest memories when people grow up,” he said.

Kerri Bauer, meanwhile, said she and her family have seen lots of movies at the Regal Cinemas.

“Two of our kids had their ‘first ever’ movie experience at that theatre. Our favorite memories were in the summer when it’s too hot to do anything else and the theater had summer $1 kids’ movies. We got to wear sweatshirts, buy a big tub of buttery popcorn, and escape the heat for a few hours. We’ll definitely miss it.”

Simon Necesito said the closing of Regal Cinemas means less entertainment options for local residents.

“I think it's a shame that the theatre is closing down. It really provided people here an alternative for recreation. And it's bad enough as it is because we lack options for that here on Saipan.”

Adam Walsh said Regal Cinemas is closing now after surviving all the calamities the CNMI went through.

“It’s terrible to see such a great business that has weathered super typhoons, a pandemic to then close its doors due to an economic downturn is so unfortunate. My fondest memories are taking my kids and their friends to see new Disney or Pixar flicks, like Moana and Inside Out. I also enjoyed have a night out to see the John Wick series with my brother-in-law George Hasselback and friend (film-buff) Robbie Glass. It will be truly missed.”

And talking about Glass, he posted on social media that the closure is the tragedy of the highest magnitude, especially since its right before all of the good summer blockbusters come out.

“When I made the decision to move half way across the world, one of the comforting things to me was that Saipan had a movie theatre. For the past nine years of me being here I have gone to the movies on average three times a month. I was once asked why I go so much and I always said it was to make sure it would stay in business because it’s a major creature comfort for me. I will now no longer be able to see movies a day before they are released in the states. A true tragedy.”

Tish Ferrer said it’s a big loss to her moviegoing family.

“I feel so sad because me and my family have a lot of fun memories especially when my kids were growing up. That’s one of the places we go bonding as a family and enjoy popcorn and slushies. My kids are sad because every time their friends have birthdays, they usually celebrate it at the movies. It will never be the same without Regal theaters.”

Ditto for Ed Arriola when he said, “It's sad for my kids especially man. It’s always been a treat. My fondest memory is probably with my son who was a Transformer freak as an 8-year-old and the two of watched that first Michael Bay movie in awe.”

For LJ Castro, Regal Cinemas holds a lot for memories for him and his family.

“It’s the place where my better half and I had our first date…and was a place our kids enjoyed with us and their friends. Countless hours of entertainment shared over the last two and a half decades that it really hurts hearing it closing. Thank you for the memories Regal Saipan!”

Regal Cinemas general manager Maybeline Cabrera confirmed last Monday, April 21, that Regal Cinemas Saipan will shuttering its doors.

“We can only confirm that the last day of operations is Wednesday, April 30th,” she said in a social media message to Marianas Press.

In a later social media post, Cabrera also shared some useful information to loyal customers of Regal Cinemas Megaplex on Saipan and they are the following:

Regular Regal gift cards don't have an expiration date. As long as there is a balance on the gift card, it is valid and can be used at all Regal theatres (Guam, American Samoa, and stateside).

If you'd like to use it here, you can purchase concessions without purchasing a ticket.

Regal premiere tickets are valid at all Regal theaters, no expiration date.

“If it's anything like 2008, I ask you all to give my team some grace as we all get through this. I've got the best team, and I know they'll manage the crowds as best as they can.”

Cabrera was alluding to the closure of the Hollywood Theater in May 2008 when its then owner, Oregon-based Wallace Theatres Corp., announced it will discontinue operations for 30 days after the last showing in April 16 and then re-evaluate whether it’s economically feasible to continue. It later reopened and was eventually bought by Regal Entertainment Group. It also briefly closed due to the devastation of Super Typhoon Yutu in 2018.

In a March 2026 article from Variety, Brent Lang and Rebecca Rubin wrote that fewer and fewer people are stopping by the box office leading to Regal Cinemas, Pacific Theatres, Alamo Drafthouse and others filing for Chapter 11.

“Some of these companies have reemerged after bankruptcy; others have dimmed their marquees forever. As a result, North America has 5,691 fewer screens compared with pre-COVID times, according to research by media consultancy Omdia,” they wrote.

Box office grosses haven’t rebounded either, Lang and Rubin wrote with ticket sales in 2024 falling to $8.7 billion, a 23.5% drop from pre-pandemic levels.

“It’s a far cry from the nearly $11 billion the industry was generating before the global health crisis,” they wrote.