Movies to return to Brass Mill Center mall in the spring

A Massachusetts-based movie theater chain that already operates four cinemas in Connecticut is getting ready to open a new location in Waterbury.

Apple Cinemas plans to reopen the 12-screen theater in Waterbury’s Brass Mill Center mall that was formerly run by Regal Cinemas. The theater has sat empty since September 2022 when it was abruptly closed as part of its corporate parent’s bankruptcy filing.

Jessica Robitaille, Apple Cinemas’ operations manager, said the company is targeting an early April opening date for the Brass Mill Center location.

“We’ve still got a bit of work to do, but that is our plan,” Robitaille said Tuesday.

Apple Cinemas already has a presence in Waterbury, with a 10-screen theater at 920 Wolcott St., adjacent to the Naugatuck Valley Shopping Center. Robitaille said the Wolcott Street theater would not close as a result of the reopening of the Brass Mill Center location.

In addition to the two Waterbury theaters, Apple Cinemas also has theaters in Hartford, Torrington and Simsbury. The Walpole, Mass.-based chain has 12 theaters in six states.

The reopening of a movie theater at Brass Mill Center is the latest piece of good news for the mall’s owner, Great Neck, N.Y.-based Kohan Retail Investment Group. An Ashley Furniture outlet store opened in a portion of the mall’s former Macy’s anchor store in December.

David Cadden, a professor emeritus at Quinnipiac University’s School of Business, said a return of a movie theater to the mall will drive foot traffic that will benefit other tenants. The mall has been plagued by store vacancies for some time now, with nearly three dozen vacancies as recently as December.

“Quite often, people will go to the movies as a couple or with friends,” Cadden said. “And while waiting for the movie to start or after you’ve seen the picture, you want to get something to eat, which will benefit the mall’s restaurants. And some people will kill time before a movie starts in a mall-based theater by doing a little shopping.”

“We’ve still got a bit of work to do, but that is our plan.” Jessica Robitaille, Apple Cinemas’ operations manager