Apex is losing its only movie theater. When will the curtain come down?

Apex’s only movie theater is closing, leaving a gap in the town’s entertainment options.

Regal Beaver Creek Stadium 12 was listed among 39 locations in the United States slated to close after Cineworld Group, the parent company of Regal Cinemas, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in September.

The Apex theater was the only North Carolina multiplex on the list. The 12-screen theater has operated in the Beaver Creek Crossing retail center for close to 15 years and is one of the few locations offering 4DX immersive, multi-sensory movies.

The movie group cites the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on movie going and debt for the closures, according to a report by Reuters. The company lost $27 billion in 2020 and $556 million in 2021.

Outside Apex, the nearest movie theaters are in Cary, Morrisville and Holly Springs, before cinephiles have to travel to Raleigh or Durham.

Fuquay-Varina in southwestern Wake County does not have a movie theater.

What’s next?

Mayor Jacques Gilbert says the town’s economic development strategy calls for more entertainment options and that local leaders would consider a public-private partnership to get a theater.

“We certainly highlight our charming downtown, but we need something where people could come in and they can spend days here, family members entertaining visitors and they can have a place to go and be entertained,” Gilbert said.

Regal Beaver Creek is one of the main attractions in Apex and draws people to the town, Gilbert said.

When he first heard about the closure, “it was a big hit.”

“I know what it brings to our town. When my daughter was in middle school, that was a place where her friends met up and were able to get together and have fun,” Gilbert said. “The movie theater has become like the anchor for people to be there and then they would peruse the shopping center, but everything drove back to the theater.”

Regal Cinemas did not respond to The News & Observer’s request for information about Stadium 12’s closure. There is currently no exact date or time frame for the closure.

In September, shortly after the bankruptcy announcement, Regal closed the Regal Greenville Grande in Greenville, N.C. The theater had been in the town since 2007.

Right now, the Beaver Creek movie theater is showing “Cocaine Bear,” “Jesus Revolution,” “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” and this weekend, “Creed III.”

Tickets are $12.54 for adults, $9.96 for seniors and $9.64 for children, according to Fandango.