Los Gatos Theatre to reopen in December

The Los Gatos Theatre is set to open in December under a new operator after closing its doors nearly three years ago.

The local institution in downtown Los Gatos has been closed since March 2020. CineLux, a theater management company that owns several theaters in the South Bay, took over operations earlier this year.

There is no set date for the grand opening yet, but CineLux posted on Facebook over the weekend that the theater would be reopened in December. CineLux President Paul

Gunsky told this newspaper they are aiming for a mid-December launch with “Avatar: The Way of the Water.”

“We are thrilled to announce that we'll be bringing the big screen back to Los Gatos, as the Los Gatos Theatre will be reopened as a CineLux location this December,” a Facebook post from CineLux said. “We can't wait to fire up the projectors and start popping in Los Gatos. See you soon!”

The company said it is hiring team members to work at the theater.

The Los Gatos Town Council awarded CineLux the management contract earlier this year.

Under the contract, CineLux will operate the theater for the next five years and the town will receive 5% of the theater's gross revenue.

CineLux also has to open its doors to nonprofit organizations for fundraising events at least six times a year.

The town took over operations of the theater last November after its previous owners, the Goetz family, donated it to the town. The historic theater is more than 100 years old, and the Goetz family purchased the building in 2011.

They restored it before reopening it to the public in 2014, and it has been closed since March 2020 because of the pandemic.