Cicero Cinema 13

5865 Circle Drive E,
Cicero, NY 13039

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Hoyts Cinemas, Northeast Cinemas, Regal Cinemas

Nearby Theaters

Funscape

Regal Cinemas opened Cicero Cinema 13 Friday September 13, 1996, as an anchor to their Funscape entertainment complex on the north side of what was then Penn Can Mall. Cicero 13 was the first (and up until May of 2005 the only) theatre in the Syracuse area equipped with stadium seating, and because of this developed a cult like following in the area. However, this following was not enough to overcome the theatre’s poor location on the backside of the failing Penn Can and Regal sold the complex to Hoyts Cinemas on (ironically) Friday February 13, 1998 (Regal stayed on to operate the Funscape complex until it closed during their bankruptcy in 2000).

The purchase of Cicero 13 gave Hoyts a monopoly on first-run films in the Syracuse area, and it began to show in their service. Theatre patrons could plan on their film starting late, and cleanliness was kept to a minimum. The amount of service complaints about the complex led Hoyts to replace the theatre’s management in late-2002. Service began to make a comeback, but it turned out to be too little to late. Regal Entertainment Group’s 2003 purchase of Hoyts Cinemas made the majority of Syracuse movie-goers very happy, but shocked many in the Cicero area when they found out that the complex that Regal themselves had built just seven years earlier was not included in the deal. The theatre instead joined with the other Hoyts locations not chosen by Regal and became Northeast Cinemas Cicero 13 later that same year (while at the same time anchoring the newly christened Driver’s Village auto mall created by local dealer Roger Burdick. Northeast’s desire to leave the United States was no secret to anyone, and the local newspaper reported the theatre’s imminent closing on numerous occasions over the next three years.

The theatre always seemed to beat the odds and continued on, becoming the only remaining Hoyts/Northeast location in the country when Northeast sold their remaining theatres in November 2005. The writing was finally on the wall, and the complex finally closed on Thursday December 29, 2005, ending Hoyts fifteen year stay in the Syracuse market and the company’s long run in the United States. The final films played at the complex were: “The Family Stone”; “Yours, Mine, and Ours”; “Just Friends”; “Chicken Little”; “Rent”; “Walk the Line”; “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” (on 2 screens); “Syriana” (on 2 screens); “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe” (on 2 screens); and “King Kong” (on 2 screens).

Contributed by Brett

Recent comments (view all 11 comments)

crunchocky
crunchocky on January 3, 2006 at 6:43 am

Sorry…. opening date should have been September 13, 1996, not 1998.

rivest266
rivest266 on December 21, 2006 at 2:46 pm

I uploaded the grand opening ad at
http://flickr.com/photos/30943004@N00/329611978/

This theatre inspired Cinemas Guzzo in Montreal to build their Mega-Plexes.

reluctantpopstar
reluctantpopstar on April 29, 2007 at 2:27 am

Only stayed open 9 years? That is crazy.

John Fink
John Fink on February 7, 2012 at 8:56 pm

According to the ad it was one of those Regals with “Stadium Style Seating in Select Auditoriums”

ricanfro
ricanfro on May 19, 2012 at 2:30 pm

Hoyts DBA Northeast Cinemas still has 2 locations open! They have not yet been able to leave the us, I know, I work for them!

rivest266
rivest266 on September 4, 2013 at 1:25 pm

Grand opening ad uploaded in the photo section as well as an aerial of the building.

Ftopel
Ftopel on October 16, 2016 at 2:42 pm

Amazing pic rivest266. I went to this theater a few times when I was in college in Ithaca, NY.

Ftopel
Ftopel on November 1, 2017 at 7:52 pm

Is it a Lowe’s now, or the car dealership?

Ftopel
Ftopel on November 2, 2017 at 8:09 pm

Yeah, drove by today and nothing looks like it used to be a movie theater.

rivest266
rivest266 on May 21, 2023 at 12:12 pm

The Funscape portion had an Showscan ride, which closed in 2000. Could this be the 14th Screen?

Showscan ride film at 60 FPS:

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