Queens landmark theater gets a second act

  • 2015-02-22
The new year found the Cinemart in Forest Hills getting a new lease of life, with the showing of the recently released ‘American Sniper’.

Any short-term plans to shutter what the NY Daily News calls a “financially struggling movie house” have been put on hold due to the sell-out crowds for multiple showings of the blockbuster movie. Owner Nicolas Nicolaou thinks that with more first-run movies on the bill, his historic theater can draw the crowds it needs to survive.

To have Cinemart included among first-release theaters, Nicolaou traveled to Los Angeles to meet with movie executives and convince them that his theater was a viable venue for first-run movies.

American Sniper was the first-run film the Forest Hills Cinemart had screened in more than a decade. It attracted even senior citizens, who braved the cold supported by canes and walkers. Nicolaou feels the community wants to see the 90-year-old theater survive and will support it with just a little incentive.

Cinemart’s recent success spread to other nearby businesses, which saw an upswing in trade, especially Eddie’s Sweet Shop, during the four-day weekend premier of the movie. Frequently, businesses that are close by and complement each other will can, with the help of Print companies, cross advertise to gain the maximum benefit from the increased exposure and advertising dollars.
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