A new movie theater is set to open at the Wilton Mall in Saratoga County after years of pandemic troubles.
Scene One Entertainment is putting the finishing touches on the theaters in a corner of the mall that was long accustomed to lines outside “Star Wars,” “Ironman” and other blockbusters — before the pandemic and the rise of streaming helped shutter the venue.
Now, after a four-year journey, CEO Joe Masher is sitting in the largest of eight theaters, with a 2000-square foot screen ready for moviegoers this weekend.
After last summer’s “Barbenheimer” phenomenon, Masher is betting on a brick-and-mortar comeback.
“I believe in movie theaters. Just because you have a kitchen doesn't mean you don't want to go out to eat. You know, you can have the best screen and best sound at home but you still want to sit in a theater with people that are sharing the same experience. A bunch of strangers in a room laughing together, crying together, being scared together, whatever, sitting at the edge of their seat together. It's an experience. You just can't get it home,” said Masher.
As the world continues to move on from the COVID pandemic that brought commercial projectors nationwide to a halt, Masher reminisces on darker days.
“So just the disparity was really incredible when you think that you could go to a strip club and get a socially safe lap dance, but you couldn't go to a movie. And restaurants were open at a limited capacity, thankfully, the people still want to socialize and get out. But in a theater, unlike a restaurant, you're facing in the same direction, you're not talking, you're not constantly chatting, and food flying all over the place, and germs and particles and everything else,” said Masher.
Masher operates movie theaters across the country and has long played a vital role at the National Association of Theater Owners.
Masher says his will stand out from the competition.
“I think that we are at an advantage here because I am lower priced than my competitor. I have popcorn popped in pure coconut oil and served with real butter. I have a parking lot for direct access. And again, it’s the same amenities as my competitor. So, we are looking at—you know, this theater only ran for seven years before it was closed for four. So it’s still kinda brand new, it still smells like new car,” said Masher.
Masher isn’t being hyperbolic when he says his theater has identical amenities to the AMC 10 minutes away: the two theaters opened a week apart in 2013, the one in the Wilton Mall on his birthday, as Bowtie Cinemas locations.
Since this location’s closure in 2020, the red leather chairs gathered dust, but overall, the layout and flourishes have remained the same. Masher does have some improvements he’d like to make.
“As I said I’d love to put recliners in my two theaters, I think the area is ripe for that right now, and I really shouldn’t say that because AMC and Regal could be listening,” joked Masher. “But anyways, there aren’t any recliners in the Capital District yet and they’re pretty prominent everywhere else.”
Masher also wants to flesh out the drink and food menu, even extending into the mall’s food court with a proper beer garden.
The real money sink of Masher’s revival project sit upstairs in the projector room.
“That’s the integrated media block, that thing, if it’s turned off, like I said, for more than two weeks, tops, that’s it,” said Masher.
The heart of a digital theater projection system, IMBs need constant power or their batteries become irreparably damaged. After four idle years, the slim window to save the theater's existing system passed and Masher had to put up $10,000 per block.
The theater’s grand opening is Wednesday with discounted tickets for eight movies like classics “A League of their Own,” “Singin’ in the Rain,” and “The Wizard of Oz,” as well as more recent hits like “Oppenheimer,” and “Barbie,” with proceeds going to benefit the Wilton Food Pantry.
