Highland Park Movie Theater Reopens After Nearly 18-Month Closure

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — Highland Park's movie theater reopened last week for the first time since it was shuttered amid the first wave of the coronavirus in Illinois.

Landmark's Renaissance Place Cinema, the five-screen art house theater that has operated for two decades at 1850 2nd St., resumed screenings of its selection of independent, foreign language and limited release films Friday.

Films being shown this week include Blue Bayou, The Card Counter, Cry Macho, The Eyes of Tammy Faye and Language Lessons. Showtime information and tickets are available online.

In accordance with local public health regulations, masks are required and there are no limitations on unvaccinated patrons.

City staff, the head of the local chamber of commerce and the manager of the restaurant next door all welcomed the return of theatergoers to downtown Highland Park, according to Pioneer Press, which first reported the theater's reopening.

“A lot hinges on movie theaters reopening,” Landmark Vice President of Marketing and Publicity Margot Gerber told Highland Park News. “It’s an industry kind of teetering on the brink of extinction. It’s an uphill battle to convince people to go see something on the big screen that they can see at home on a streaming platform."

Related:

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• Renaissance Place Theater Reopens After Renovations
• Landmark Theatres Renews Renaissance Place Lease

Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering issued supplemental emergency orders closing "all motion picture and live performance theaters" on March 17, 2020, shortly after Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued an executive order banning large gatherings and in-person dining amid the first wave of the coronavirus outbreak in Illinois.

The governor lifted capacity restrictions on theaters in June and issued a new indoor mask mandate in August.

Other local theaters have not been able to weather the revenue losses that have followed restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

ArcLight Cinemas in Glenview closed after its parent company ceased operations earlier this year, while Century 12 Evanston/CinéArts 6 shut down after operator Cinemark managed to terminate its lease following a judge's ruling that the governor had made it "illegal to operate a motion picture complex" with his executive orders restricting businesses and activities.