Cinemart’s sales and its future are looking up.
The almost century-old Forest Hills theater sold out most of its showings of “American Sniper” on Thursday night — the start of a crucial weekend for sales that will be used to determine if the theater should get first-run films and remain in business.
“I came home and saw all these ticket sales and I almost started crying,” owner Nicolas Nicolaou said. “The people of Forest Hills are telling Hollywood that we will not just die.”
And Nicolaou expects the sales to continue throughout the weekend.
“Yesterday was fantastic,” he said. “And we’re almost home free.”
Nicolaou is fighting for the survival of his theater, Cinemart.
The Cinemart opened in 1927 and Thursday’s high volume of ticket sales represents a turning point for the theater. The last several years were marked with disappointment and a severe loss of business because the theater didn’t have the rights to screen any first-run movies. The Cinemart’s last first-run movie was “Sex and the City” in 2008.
But with the recent installation of digital projectors and an outpouring of community support, Nicolaou is now running “American Sniper” in a bid to become a first-run movie theater again and ensure the independent theater’s survival.
Movie studios will be using the Cinemart’s ticket sales this weekend for “American Sniper” to determine if the theater should continue to receive first-run films.
“For so many years we were quietly struggling and now it looks like we’re going to make it,” Nicolaou said.
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