As if to take a page from the Peter Bogdanovich 1971 movie “The Last Picture Show,” Putnam’s last remaining movie theater, Carmel Cinema 8, which is located at the Shop-Rite Plaza off Route 52, will be closing May 29.
While the theater did not specify the reason for its closing, it is believed that it will coincide with the expiration of a 25-year lease for the space. The space previously had been used by a department store.
The theater, which is equipped with eight screens, recently has been operating four days a week. According to a database of movie theaters, it has a total of 1,186 seats. A history indicates that the theater opened on July 28, 2000, and at that time was operated by Cinema North Corporation, which was there until October 2009. In addition to the Carmel Cinema 8, the current operator also owns the Bank Street Theater in New Milford, Connecticut.
In a message on its website and social media, the theater thanked its “loyal customers for the past 15 years of business.” It offered to redeem gift cards for cash or allow them to be used at the New Milford theater.
An online petition designed to show support for keeping the theater open and urging landlord Regency Centers to renew the theater’s lease was posted on the change.org website.
“We need your help saving our local theater, which is the only theater left in Putnam County and the mid Hudson Valley,” the petition said. “It’s the heart of our community and has been for decades.”
The petition said that the Carmel Cinema 8 recently has been doing its best business since the Covid pandemic. It also said that there was no indication of plans for use of the space after the theater closes.
“We need our theater. It’s one of the last things left in our small town, aside from the bowling alley. The theater is a life line for everyone in Carmel, giving us something to do on rainy days and hot summer evenings,” the petition said.
