Century Blackhawk Plaza Movie Theater Closes

DANVILLE, CA — Century Blackhawk Plaza, Danville’s only movie theater, closed Sunday, operator Cinemark Movie Theatres confirmed.

“Cinemark can confirm that it has permanently closed its Century Blackhawk Plaza theater following the conclusion of its lease term. This closure is normal course of business and the result of the careful and ongoing review of our theater fleet,” Cinemark told Patch in a statement.

As of Monday morning, the theater’s official website contains only an error code. One Danville resident reported driving by and seeing lights removed from the outside and a completely empty inside.

Before the pandemic, the large theater was in the top two or three theaters for ticket sales in the East Bay, commercial real estate broker Jon Woodcox told the Mercury News in September 2020. That month, Blackhawk Plaza, the retail center where the theater was located, was sold to the Newport Beach-based Ramanujan Group for $38.3 million, less than the value of its initial purchase in 2005, according to a Mercury News report.

Century Blackhawk’s closing comes just months after Crow Canyon Stadium 6 in San Ramon closed in September, after 38 years. The theater was closed along with 12 other Regal theaters across the country, as parent company Cineworld remains in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to a Deadline report. That leaves just The LOT City Center and Century Walnut Creek 14 as the two movie theaters within a 10-minute drive of Danville.

The news drew sad reactions on DanvilleSocial, an Instagram account documenting Danville life that said that Cinemark initially denied rumors of Century Theatres’ closing.

“So sad,” wrote one user. “So many childhood memories and memories with my kiddos.”

“Wow,” wrote another. “We were just there yesterday.”