A movie theater that sat dark for six years finally flickered back to life after noon Thursday in Swansea, as Entertainment Luxury Cinemas opened its doors to the public at 207 Swansea Mall Drive. The 12-screen cineplex inside the Swansea Crossing plaza started showing films at 12:20 p.m., kicking off what the company describes as the first step in a much bigger overhaul.
According to The Herald News, Thursday's opening marks the start of a two-phase revival of the long-dormant 44,000-square-foot space. The company said it is opening in phases because, as it put it, “We’re opening in phases because great things take time.” The second phase is slated to bring luxury reclining chairs, laser projectors, improved Dolby sound and a liquor license.
The site has a complicated recent history. It formerly housed Regal Cinemas, which closed its doors there in the fall of 2020 as the pandemic upended the movie business nationwide, per the same Herald News report. The Fall River Reporter notes Regal previously occupied the location before it went dark. Before that closure, the 12-screen cineplex at 207 Swansea Mall Drive was known as Regal Cinemas 12, a fixture inside the Swansea Crossing shopping plaza, according to a 2020 Herald News report.
From Mall Fixture to Luxury Reboot
Entertainment Luxury Cinemas bought the 12-screen theater earlier this year, according to WJAR. Bill Hanney, who owns and operates the company, announced plans in July to revive the shuttered theater, the Herald News report states. The Fall River Reporter describes Entertainment Luxury Cinemas as a Massachusetts-based chain that also operates locations in Sturbridge, Hyannis, Falmouth, Leominster and South Dennis, along with one location each in Maine and New Hampshire.
The chain's model centers on reclining seats, enhanced sound and projection, beer and wine bars, and upscale environments, per the Fall River Reporter. That approach has already played out elsewhere in New England. In Sturbridge, the company reopened a theater at 110 Charlton Road in February 2025 featuring eight screens and seating for about 1,000 guests, along with a planned bar, new carpets and an updated color scheme, the article notes.
What's Playing, and What It Costs
A dozen movies rolled out for opening week in Swansea, with showtimes beginning at noon on Thursday. The Herald News reports the opening-day lineup included “Whalefall,” “Street Fighter,” “Sense and Sensibility,” “The Social Reckoning,” “Other Mommy,” “Verity,” “Primetime,” “Heart of the Beast,” “Forgotten Island,” “Resident Evil,” and an encore showing of “Avengers: Endgame.”
Tickets run $10.75 for bargain matinee seats before 4 p.m., $14.75 for adults after 4 p.m., and $11.75 for children, seniors and military personnel, according to the same report. The theater's own site, Entertainment Cinemas, lists showtimes and trailers for the Swansea location. The site also states that all tickets are non-refundable.
A Playbook Borrowed From Cape Cod
Hanney's phased approach has a track record elsewhere in the state. At his Hyannis complex, a multi-screen theater is open, with up to nine luxury theaters planned when the project is complete, according to the Cape Cod Chronicle. Hanney has projected that complex could employ as many as 200 to 300 people during its busiest months, the Chronicle reported.
For now, Swansea moviegoers get the simpler version: a working cineplex with a dozen films and standard seating, inside a building that had been sitting empty since Regal pulled out in fall 2020. Whether the promised recliners, laser projectors and liquor license arrive on any particular timeline remains to be seen, but for a mall plaza that lost its anchor theater years ago, Thursday's reopening alone was the headline.
