Apple Cinemas scraps plans to reopen movie theater at South Philly’s Riverview Plaza
The company says it was ‘forced to cancel’ renovations after property owner Bart Blatstein broke terms in its lease. It’s looking to open a theater elsewhere in the city, but it may not include an IMAX screen.
Apple Cinemas' renovation of the former movie theater at the Riverview Plaza in South Philly will not move forward due to problems with the condition of the property, a co-owner of the independent chain said Thursday.
The reopening of the shuttered Regal United Artists multiplex on Christopher Columbus Boulevard, which closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, had been eagerly awaited by moviegoers in Philly since Apple Cinemas unveiled the project last August. The small chain signed a lease for the property two years ago and had a deal with IMAX to install a screen with a laser system. None of the city’s other theaters have IMAX screens.
Apple Cinemas aimed to open the 17-screen theater some time this year, but months passed without any concrete updates on the project. The company said the delay and demise of the renovation stems from a conflict with developer Bart Blatstein, whose Tower Investments owns the entire Riverview Plaza at 1100-1400 S. Christopher Columbus Blvd
“Unfortunately this project, given the uncertainty over a lot of lease terms and the delivery condition, will not be able to move forward,” said Siva Shan, co-founder and co-owner of Apple Cinemas. “There was a water leak, which caused mold. The landlord was supposed to remediate the mold and give the property to us. We’ve been holding onto this for the last two years, and he was supposed to do all those things and give it to us, and he has not communicated anything about delivering the property to us.”
As recently as March 4, the city issued a permit for Apple Cinemas to move forward with alterations at the building, including new finishes and auditorium seating. Another permit issued in November covered a variety of interior and exterior work.
In late March, after months of inquiries, Shan told PhillyVoice that Apple Cinemas was still waiting to enter the property for contractors to start renovations.
Commercial real estate leases often include a landlord delivery letter stipulating work that needs to be done before a property is turned over to the tenant. An agreement may include a timeline to complete repairs of utilities and structural issues, for example, and tenants may have the option to renegotiate or terminate a lease if benchmarks are not met.
Blatstein, who owns and has developed more than 100 properties, mostly in Philly and Atlantic City over the past four decades, declined multiple interview requests.
When a deadline passed to deliver the South Philly property last week, Shan said Blatstein did not give Apple Cinemas a firm timetable to move forward. The company already has invested about $200,000 for permitting and other costs related to the project, Shan said, and Apple Cinemas would rather look elsewhere in Philly than remain in limbo.
“We want to take a property, renovate quickly, and move on to the next project,” Shan said. “We cannot be sitting on a single project for more than two years, so we were forced to cancel it.”
Apple Cinemas still aims to open a Philly theater
Tower Investments originally built the 77,000-square-foot movie theater and a separate retail plaza in the late 1980s. The property was then sold to Cedar Realty Trust in 2003. The theater long served as one of the city’s most accessible places to catch a movie, especially in IMAX. A free parking lot beneath Interstate 95 made it a more convenient place to drive compared to Philly’s other theaters in Center City, North Philly, University City and the Northeast.
Before the pandemic, Cedar Realty Trust had planned a $12 million renovation of the movie theater along with the construction of apartments and new retail outlets. The project never materialized, and the Regal closed in November 2020 as cinemas worldwide were crippled by COVID restrictions.
Blatstein bought the property back two years later, saying he paid less for it than the sale price in 2003. The retail complex across Reed Street is anchored by a Staples, Pep Boys and Verilife medical marijuana dispensary. Blatstein also owns the nearby Columbus Crossing shopping center, and he purchased Piers 38 and 40 on the Delaware River waterfront a few months after reacquiring the Riverview Plaz
Apple Cinemas, founded in Massachusetts in 2010, operates 14 independent movie theaters primarily in New England. The company opened its first West Coast theater with an IMAX screen in San Francisco last year. The chain’s growth prompted Apple Inc. to file a trademark infringement lawsuit against Apple Cinemas last August. The tech giant alleges Apple Cinemas' name dilutes the Apple brand, confuses customers and uses the company’s reputation to garner favorable leasing deals.
Shan said he’s unable to comment on the Apple lawsuit. The two sides filed a motion this week to continue the case, signaling they could be headed toward a settlement. The lawsuit has no bearing on the company’s ability to continue operating and expanding, Shan said.
“We have opened two other locations since signing the Philadelphia lease,” Shan said. “We are extremely good at what we are doing and we do very good for a movie theater.”
Apple Cinemas still views Philly as an ideal fit for growth, and the company has already begun scouting alternate locations in several neighborhoods in the city.
“We always want that the city is very vibrant, and it suits our market perfectly,” he said. “I believe the city definitely can use a good movie theater.”
Future of Riverview Plaza now in question
Apple Cinemas has sent legal notice to Blatstein to terminate the lease at Riverview Plaza and is now awaiting a response, Shan said. There are “multiple issues” at the theater that interfered with delivering the property, Shan claimed, but he declined to share further details on the problems at the building.
“They are in the breach of the lease,” Shan said.
City property records show the theater failed to provide required energy and water benchmarking information in February, but later met its obligations on May 11. Last year, the property received a fire code violation for “unapproved conditions” and another violation related to licensing of a vacant structure. (Philadelphia’s Property website still lists Cedar Riverview LP as the owner, but a city official confirmed Riverview Plaza is owned by Blatstein and the record is likely not updated due to administrative delays).
For Philly residents, the breakdown in the project may come as a disappointment. It also raises questions about the future of the property if it does not survive as a theater.
Shan said Apple Cinemas is now informing IMAX about the situation, and it’s too soon to say whether the planned screen would be incorporated at another location. At one point recently, Shan said Apple Cinemas had applied for a permit to include bowling and an arcade along with the theater in South Philly, hoping a revised plan could help move the project along.
Resolving the dispute at Riverview Plaza would be a long shot at this stage, though not impossible.
“If they stick to the original lease terms,” Shan said. “It is not only delivering the property. They were not able to stick to a couple of lease terms that were originally agreed upon. I can’t discuss that in detail.”
Despite the letdown for moviegoers in Philly, Shan said Apple Cinemas is committed to opening in the city.
“At some point, we’ll definitely be there,” he said.
Blackhawk Plaza Movie Theater Opening Suspended Indefinitely
Apple Cinemas said it was “unable to move forward opening” the planned theater due to uncertainty with the ownership of Blackhawk Plaza.
Michael Wittner’s profile picture
Michael Wittner,
Patch Staff
Verified Patch Staff Badge
Posted Fri, Jan 30, 2026 at 2:09 pm PT
DANVILLE, CA — Apple Cinemas announced Friday that it will indefinitely suspend the opening of a planned 26,200-square-foot movie theater at Blackhawk Plaza.
“With the uncertainty surrounding the ownership structure of the Plaza, we are unable to move forward opening at this time. We are monitoring the situation and have hope that at some point we can realize our goal of serving the Tri-Valley community. Please check back for updates as we will share as we have more information,” the movie theater chain said.
In November 2023, commercial real estate developer Jones Lang LaSalle announced that Apple Cinemas, a Northeastern theater chain, would open a first-run and blockbuster movie theater in the former location of Century Blackhawk Plaza, which closed in December 2022. The chain’s first California location would feature luxury seating and the ability to order food from the seats. Following the closure of Century Blackhawk, it was to be Danville’s sole movie theater.
The opening faced several setbacks. In July, it postponed its opening due to litigation with Apple, Inc., who filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Apple Cinemas, according to reporting from Danville-San Ramon. Now, the future of all of Blackhawk Plaza is up in the air, following the closure of Draeger’s and allegations that the Ramanujan Group, LLC. owner defaulted on a $5 million loan. A court hearing is requesting that the property be placed under receivership.
Please update, theatre name Regal Mission Marketplace and the screen count is 11 screens. When Regal took over the theatre, it got the Cineworld designed interior and selected screens have recliners and they downsize to 11 screens.
Apple Cinemas scraps plans to reopen movie theater at South Philly’s Riverview Plaza The company says it was ‘forced to cancel’ renovations after property owner Bart Blatstein broke terms in its lease. It’s looking to open a theater elsewhere in the city, but it may not include an IMAX screen.
Apple Cinemas' renovation of the former movie theater at the Riverview Plaza in South Philly will not move forward due to problems with the condition of the property, a co-owner of the independent chain said Thursday.
The reopening of the shuttered Regal United Artists multiplex on Christopher Columbus Boulevard, which closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, had been eagerly awaited by moviegoers in Philly since Apple Cinemas unveiled the project last August. The small chain signed a lease for the property two years ago and had a deal with IMAX to install a screen with a laser system. None of the city’s other theaters have IMAX screens.
Apple Cinemas aimed to open the 17-screen theater some time this year, but months passed without any concrete updates on the project. The company said the delay and demise of the renovation stems from a conflict with developer Bart Blatstein, whose Tower Investments owns the entire Riverview Plaza at 1100-1400 S. Christopher Columbus Blvd “Unfortunately this project, given the uncertainty over a lot of lease terms and the delivery condition, will not be able to move forward,” said Siva Shan, co-founder and co-owner of Apple Cinemas. “There was a water leak, which caused mold. The landlord was supposed to remediate the mold and give the property to us. We’ve been holding onto this for the last two years, and he was supposed to do all those things and give it to us, and he has not communicated anything about delivering the property to us.”
As recently as March 4, the city issued a permit for Apple Cinemas to move forward with alterations at the building, including new finishes and auditorium seating. Another permit issued in November covered a variety of interior and exterior work.
In late March, after months of inquiries, Shan told PhillyVoice that Apple Cinemas was still waiting to enter the property for contractors to start renovations.
Commercial real estate leases often include a landlord delivery letter stipulating work that needs to be done before a property is turned over to the tenant. An agreement may include a timeline to complete repairs of utilities and structural issues, for example, and tenants may have the option to renegotiate or terminate a lease if benchmarks are not met.
Blatstein, who owns and has developed more than 100 properties, mostly in Philly and Atlantic City over the past four decades, declined multiple interview requests.
When a deadline passed to deliver the South Philly property last week, Shan said Blatstein did not give Apple Cinemas a firm timetable to move forward. The company already has invested about $200,000 for permitting and other costs related to the project, Shan said, and Apple Cinemas would rather look elsewhere in Philly than remain in limbo.
“We want to take a property, renovate quickly, and move on to the next project,” Shan said. “We cannot be sitting on a single project for more than two years, so we were forced to cancel it.”
Apple Cinemas still aims to open a Philly theater Tower Investments originally built the 77,000-square-foot movie theater and a separate retail plaza in the late 1980s. The property was then sold to Cedar Realty Trust in 2003. The theater long served as one of the city’s most accessible places to catch a movie, especially in IMAX. A free parking lot beneath Interstate 95 made it a more convenient place to drive compared to Philly’s other theaters in Center City, North Philly, University City and the Northeast.
Before the pandemic, Cedar Realty Trust had planned a $12 million renovation of the movie theater along with the construction of apartments and new retail outlets. The project never materialized, and the Regal closed in November 2020 as cinemas worldwide were crippled by COVID restrictions.
Blatstein bought the property back two years later, saying he paid less for it than the sale price in 2003. The retail complex across Reed Street is anchored by a Staples, Pep Boys and Verilife medical marijuana dispensary. Blatstein also owns the nearby Columbus Crossing shopping center, and he purchased Piers 38 and 40 on the Delaware River waterfront a few months after reacquiring the Riverview Plaz
Apple Cinemas, founded in Massachusetts in 2010, operates 14 independent movie theaters primarily in New England. The company opened its first West Coast theater with an IMAX screen in San Francisco last year. The chain’s growth prompted Apple Inc. to file a trademark infringement lawsuit against Apple Cinemas last August. The tech giant alleges Apple Cinemas' name dilutes the Apple brand, confuses customers and uses the company’s reputation to garner favorable leasing deals.
Shan said he’s unable to comment on the Apple lawsuit. The two sides filed a motion this week to continue the case, signaling they could be headed toward a settlement. The lawsuit has no bearing on the company’s ability to continue operating and expanding, Shan said.
“We have opened two other locations since signing the Philadelphia lease,” Shan said. “We are extremely good at what we are doing and we do very good for a movie theater.”
Apple Cinemas still views Philly as an ideal fit for growth, and the company has already begun scouting alternate locations in several neighborhoods in the city.
“We always want that the city is very vibrant, and it suits our market perfectly,” he said. “I believe the city definitely can use a good movie theater.”
Future of Riverview Plaza now in question Apple Cinemas has sent legal notice to Blatstein to terminate the lease at Riverview Plaza and is now awaiting a response, Shan said. There are “multiple issues” at the theater that interfered with delivering the property, Shan claimed, but he declined to share further details on the problems at the building.
“They are in the breach of the lease,” Shan said.
City property records show the theater failed to provide required energy and water benchmarking information in February, but later met its obligations on May 11. Last year, the property received a fire code violation for “unapproved conditions” and another violation related to licensing of a vacant structure. (Philadelphia’s Property website still lists Cedar Riverview LP as the owner, but a city official confirmed Riverview Plaza is owned by Blatstein and the record is likely not updated due to administrative delays).
For Philly residents, the breakdown in the project may come as a disappointment. It also raises questions about the future of the property if it does not survive as a theater.
Shan said Apple Cinemas is now informing IMAX about the situation, and it’s too soon to say whether the planned screen would be incorporated at another location. At one point recently, Shan said Apple Cinemas had applied for a permit to include bowling and an arcade along with the theater in South Philly, hoping a revised plan could help move the project along.
Resolving the dispute at Riverview Plaza would be a long shot at this stage, though not impossible.
“If they stick to the original lease terms,” Shan said. “It is not only delivering the property. They were not able to stick to a couple of lease terms that were originally agreed upon. I can’t discuss that in detail.”
Despite the letdown for moviegoers in Philly, Shan said Apple Cinemas is committed to opening in the city.
“At some point, we’ll definitely be there,” he said.
@chronicler this is from theatre website, see the photo I just uploaded to the photos section
Please update, total seats 2,137
Seating Capacity:
Theatre 1 242 MPX
Theatre 2 248 Dolby Atmos
Theatre 3 173
Theatre 4 and 5 137
Theatre 6 100
Theatre 7 99
Theatre 8, 9, 10 and 11 62
Theatre 12 122
Theatre 13 119
Theatre 14 151
Theatre 15 153
Theatre 16 156
Please rename the theatre to Contra Costa Cinemas as per theatre website
Please rename Cinema West Veranda LUXE Cinema & IMAX and 4DX is being installed in theatre 9, opening soon
Please update name to Brenden Theatres Concord 14 + JB-X as per the website
Blackhawk Plaza Movie Theater Opening Suspended Indefinitely Apple Cinemas said it was “unable to move forward opening” the planned theater due to uncertainty with the ownership of Blackhawk Plaza. Michael Wittner’s profile picture Michael Wittner, Patch Staff Verified Patch Staff Badge Posted Fri, Jan 30, 2026 at 2:09 pm PT DANVILLE, CA — Apple Cinemas announced Friday that it will indefinitely suspend the opening of a planned 26,200-square-foot movie theater at Blackhawk Plaza.
“With the uncertainty surrounding the ownership structure of the Plaza, we are unable to move forward opening at this time. We are monitoring the situation and have hope that at some point we can realize our goal of serving the Tri-Valley community. Please check back for updates as we will share as we have more information,” the movie theater chain said.
In November 2023, commercial real estate developer Jones Lang LaSalle announced that Apple Cinemas, a Northeastern theater chain, would open a first-run and blockbuster movie theater in the former location of Century Blackhawk Plaza, which closed in December 2022. The chain’s first California location would feature luxury seating and the ability to order food from the seats. Following the closure of Century Blackhawk, it was to be Danville’s sole movie theater.
The opening faced several setbacks. In July, it postponed its opening due to litigation with Apple, Inc., who filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Apple Cinemas, according to reporting from Danville-San Ramon. Now, the future of all of Blackhawk Plaza is up in the air, following the closure of Draeger’s and allegations that the Ramanujan Group, LLC. owner defaulted on a $5 million loan. A court hearing is requesting that the property be placed under receivership.
Seating Capaciy:
Theatre 1 300 XL at AMC
Theatre 2 109
Theatre 3 80
Theatre 4, 7, 8 and 12 90
Theatre 5 109
Theatre 6 and 9 188
Theatre 10 104
Theatre 11 94
Theatre 13 111
Theatre 14 295
Theatre 15 187
Theatre 16, 17, 18, 20 and 21 188
Theatre 18 84
Theatre 22 300 70MM equiped andXL at AMC
Theatre 23 172 IMAX with Laser
Theatre 24 189 Dolby Cinema at AMC
Please update name to Rialto CInemas Elmwood as per theatre website
Please rename Cinemark Century Southland Mall as per webiste
total seats 2,855
Seating Capacity:
Theatre 1 122
Theatre 2, 3 and 14 146
Theatre 4 and 5 211
Theatre 6 and 11 122
Theatre 7 290 XL at AMC
Theatre 8 250 IMAX with Laser
Theatre 9 214 Dolby Cinema at AMC
Theatre 10 295 XL at AMC
Theatre 12 and 13 207
Theatre 15 166
Theatre 16 104
Please rename theatre to Regal Jack London per website
Please update total seating capcity to 1,393
Seating Capacity:
Theatre 1 620 70MM
Theatre 2 420
Theatre 3 204
Theatre 4 149
Source from theatre website
Please update, total seat 1330
The theater name has just been changed to AMC Easton Town Center 30. It is no longer a DINE-IN theater.
Please rename theatre to Cinépolis San Mateo as per website
Total Seats 1,966
Seating Capacity
Theatre 1 188
Theatre 2, 6 and 11 103
Theatre 3, 4, 5, 12 and 13 111
Theatre 7 169 IMAX Laser
Theatre 8 185 RPX/HDR BY BARCO/Magnify8
Theatre 9 179 4DX
Theatre 10 107
Theatre 14 112
Theatre 15 162 SCREEN X
Please update, rename theatre to Regal UA Stonestown Twin as the final name of the theatre when it closed
Seating Capacity:
Theatre 1 and 2 45
Theatre 3 49
Theatre 4 47
Theatre 5 54
Theatre 6 58
Theatre 7 108
Theatre 8 104
Theatre 9 106
Theatre 10 107
Theatre 11 107 SCREENX AT AMC
Theatre 12 135
Theatre 13 182 Dolby Cinema at AMC
Theatre 14 160
Theatre 15 159
Theatre 16 435 IMAX Laser and IMAX 70MM
Renovations are now complete, please update total seats 450 and all houses have recliner seating
Theatre 1 262 wtih HDR By Barco and 70MM equipped
Theatre 2 32
Theatre 3 41
Theatre 4 32
Theatre 5 83
Please update, total seats 530 and 4 screens currently, 2 screens are closed
Seating Capacity:
Theatre 1 160
Theatre 2 100
Theatre 3 and 4 Closed
Theatre 5 140
Theatre 6 130
Please rename theatre to Regal Rancho Del Rey
Please update, theatre name Regal Mission Marketplace and the screen count is 11 screens. When Regal took over the theatre, it got the Cineworld designed interior and selected screens have recliners and they downsize to 11 screens.
Please update, rename theatre to Regal Escondido and total seats 3,377
Seating Capacity:
Theatre 1 398 IMAX with Laser
Theatre 2 and 15 240
Theatre 3,4, 13 and 14 277
Theatre 5 and 12 131
Theatre 6, 7, 10 and 11 132
Theatre 8 116
Theatre 9 114
Please rename theatre to Regal Carlsbad as per website