New movie theater to open soon at Pittsburgh Mills mall
Movie theaters are starting to come back.
More people getting vaccinated plus states increasingly loosening restrictions on indoor capacity limits seems to be resulting in Hollywood putting more major films back onto big screens and the theaters regaining their abilities to permanently stay open.
One of the surest signs the industry is rebounding has to be new theaters feeling comfortable enough to open in the current climate. The Pittsburgh area is getting new blood in that arena with the Wednesday opening of GQT Movies Pittsburgh Mills in Frazer’s Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills mall.
“We are pleased to welcome GQT Movies to The Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills,” Ernest Diaz, the mall’s general manager, said in a statement. “We are excited for this new addition and look forward to continuing to bolster the tenancy in place with new opportunities at the mall.”
This new venture will be in the same location as the Pittsburgh Mills Cinemark 18 theater, which closed in May. It’s also Michiganbased GQT Movies’ first attempt at breaking into the Pittsburgh market, which the company is trying to win over through low ticket prices, attention to COVID19 safety and fostering a community atmosphere.
“We just think it’s a marvelous facility that we can get reopened and reintroduced to the Allegheny County area,” said Matt McSparin, GQT Movies’ chief operating officer. “We think it’s going to look different to people, particularly with our service
attitude, cleanliness and we really believe this price point is going to be so engaging to people.”
GQT is coming in guns blazing with plenty of enticing deals for movie lovers, including $5 tickets and a free small popcorn for morning matinees; $5.75 afternoon matinees and similar discounts for seniors, military members, students and children; $5 tickets on Mondays and Tuesdays all day; and a “2sDays” promotion every Tuesday which offers two movie tickets, two medium soft drinks and a large tub of popcorn for $22.
Following COVID- 19 safety protocols is also of utmost importance as GQT Movies Pittsburgh Mills prepares to go public. Sharon Goldstein, the theater’s general manager, said social distancing will be maintained by requiring reserved seating and ensuring that whenever a ticket is booked, the seats around it immediately become unavailable.
She also said masks will be required for both staff and patrons, there will be ample sanitation stations and show times will be staggered to take into account the time it will take to adequately clean theaters between screenings.
“Coming back to a theater’s going to be a little scary for a lot of people,” Ms. Goldstein said. “We’re working very hard to make it as comfortable as possible for everybody.”
The theater will begin at 15% capacity on March 31 in accordance with Allegheny County recommendations and then move to 75% on April 4 once Gov. Tom Wolf’s recently announced statewide ease- up on indoor limits goes into effect.
Of course, what brings movie fans to theaters is the films themselves, though how powerful that pull is might be tough to project given the popularity of streaming options. GQT Movies Pittsburgh Mills will open with “Godzilla vs. Kong,” which will also be available for free via HBO Max.
Still, Ms. Goldstein is confident that Western Pennsylvanians will show up, based on the reception the theater’s development received.
“We’ve had our door open to the mall community and people keep stopping and saying, ‘ Aren’t you open yet?’” she said.
“I do think people are ready to come out and see movies, and people will be excited to see we’re providing them with a safe, clean environment to do that in.”
As for Mr. McSparin, he’s hoping that his theater can help revitalize a mall that was devastated by the pandemic and can become a vital part of the surrounding ecosystem. He framed his hope for GQT Movies Pittsburgh Mills in a folksy metaphor.
“Our job is to bake a really tasty cake where people want to have another slice,” Mr. McSparin said. “The ingredients to that cake are price, service, cleanliness, responsiveness to needs. Are we bringing in the movies you want to see? Those are all ingredients in this hopefully perfectly created cake that meets the needs of all our guests.
“If we meet those needs, we’ll sell cake after cake and hopefully those sales of cakes will add up to a viable business that will be there for years to come and service the community.”