Movie Theater Desert Expands: West Boylston Cinemas Closing In May

WEST BOYLSTON, MA — One of the few independently-owned movie theaters in the region will close at the end of May, shrinking the region's theater options even further after other recent closures.

West Boylston Cinemas owner Kevin Broderick announced the closure over the weekend, thanking patrons of the budget-friendly cinema for their support over nearly 30 years in business. Broderick said the theater's last day will be May 30.

"Though the cinema may be going, what will remain are the wonderful memories of all the customer interactions over the past 20+ years. Without such a nice clientele, the cinema would have let the behemoth down the street in Worcester get the best of us. Without you, the cinema would have gone away with the demise of 35mm film back in 2014. Without you, it would have been easy to have just let the pandemic claim the cinema as it did so many others small businesses," Broderick wrote on Facebook.

West Boylston Cinemas offered screenings of new and slightly older releases at prices well below the multiplex chains. Tickets are $9 for adults, $6 for kids and seniors, and during discount times.

The theater's closure leaves the Blackstone Valley 14 Cinema de Lux in Millbury as the only major theater around — unless you travel to the Solomon Pond Mall in Marlborough. In fact, Millbury is home to the only two movie theaters in the Worcester area, with the downtown Elm Draught House Cinema offering independent movies and live performances.

Worcester's Showcase Cinema closed after the pandemic, making Worcester the largest city in the U.S. without its own movie theater, even though it has been used as a location for Hollywood movies like "Don't Look Up" and "Wakanda Forever." Cinema World in Fitchburg, meanwhile, closed earlier this year.

There is a glimmer of home for the silver screen: an unused theater inside the Mercantile Center is up for lease, creating the possibility of a new cinema in the area.