The Showtime Cinemas theater will officially close its doors on Sunday, September 15, ending over two decades of operation in the Town of Newburgh. The theater building and surrounding parking lot have been proposed before the town planning board as a new self storage facility site.

The movie theater first opened in 1987 as Newburgh Cinemas 10, which later was run by United Artists then Hoyts before closing for several years. In November of 2003, Showtime Cinemas opened and transferred ownership in January 2020 to its current owner, Christopher Bistor. Bistor first joined Showtime Cinemas back in 2003.

Several months later into Bistor’s ownership, in March 2020, the country and world experienced the COVID pandemic, forcing businesses to close for a time and sending people into lockdown. It was here that people turned to streaming services to watch movies together. The community support of the food drive-thru, private theater rentals and the drive-in movies during the summer of 2020 were all moments that helped keep Showtime Cinemas alive.

The Newburgh Self Storage proposal is looking to build a new self storage facility, a permitted use within the zone the building is in, known as the interchangeable business zone. The firm Colliers Engineering and Design is leading the project and has made several presentations to the planning board over the last several months. The plan calls for the current building where the theater is located to be renovated with eight new buildings for storage to be built on the site. Access for the facility would be from Route 300 and Route 52. The theater property is owned by Sam Newburgh, LLC f/k/a Max Newburgh, LLC. Offices of the ownership are located in Manhasset on Long Island.

At noon on Thursday, August 22, the official Facebook page for the theater posted the following statement: “It is with great sadness that we bring forth this announcement of our official closing date. Since 2020 we had a massive battle to fight and we overcame it with the help and support from the local and surrounding communities. We would like to thank all of you for the support you have given to us during the roughest of times, from the drive thru food sales, private rentals and of course the drive-in movies during the summer of 2020. We came out on the other side and continued to battle with our property being sold numerous times to storage facilities.

“Showtime Cinemas also would like to recognize all the terrific employees that have worked the ticket and concession counter over the years, which has made Showtime Cinemas what it is today – a place that many residents call their home away from home. Unfortunately, the time has come that we lost our fighting battle. We are saddened that we have to say our goodbyes. As we march toward the official closing date of September 15, 2024, we will be limiting our hours to weekends only. Please take a moment to look through your belongings and ensure you have utilized all gift cards or gift certificates that you may have from Showtime Cinemas. We will be accepting gift cards, any non-expired vouchers (with the exception of vouchers that may have expired on August 31, 2024) until September 15, 2024. Thank you again for a fantastic 20 years and we look forward to seeing the community for their last visits over the next few weekends.”

Since the post went live, over 300 comments have been added to the page with over 700 reactions. Many of the comments share memories about the theater watching movies with family and friends and being a part of the local community. Other commentators criticized the town for allowing the construction of a new storage facility to come in. Theaters in the immediate vicinity of Newburgh have since closed like the former Destinta Theater in New Windsor and is in the process of being demolished and the former Downing Film Center in the City of Newburgh, which closed in March of 2023.

Reaching out to Bistor following the announcement of the closure, he said that spaces in the area will be investigated to see if something viable can be done again later down the line. In the short term, the theater’s run will end in the middle of September.

“We’ve been through the roughest of times, and the community stood behind us, continued to support us in every way possible and you know, we’re forever grateful for that. Many of our customers have became great friends and family to many of us here, employees over the years,” said Bistor. “I really say every day that you know, I’m grateful for my employees, and I thank them for all that they do. It’s going to be tough to see many of them go but I take each and every one of them as a part of my family today. Many of them are younger, and they ultimately feel like my children. It’s just been a lot of great memories for both myself, my staff over the years and past employees.”