As one movie theater prepares to open in Freeport next week, another will close in Falmouth in the coming months to make way for a Walmart expansion.

The six-screen Nordica Theatre is scheduled to open late Thursday for a special midnight showing of “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1” on two screens. The boutique-style theater, located on the lower level of the Freeport Village Station complex, also will show the new 3-D animated “Happy Feet Two” during its first week.

Nordica’s opening follows the Falmouth Planning Board’s approval of expansion plans for the Walmart on Route 1 that call for tearing down the 10-screen Regal Cinemas next door.

The anticipated loss of competition in a neighboring town comes at a good time for Nordica, according to an executive of Berenson Associates in Boston, owners of Freeport Village Station and the movie theater.

“We certainly didn’t count on Regal closing when we decided to open a movie theater in Freeport,” said Al Yebba, Berenson’s chief operating officer. “But the coincidental closure will likely be helpful to us.”

It’s unclear when Regal Cinemas would close. Walmart’s project approval, granted Nov. 1, gives the developers one year to start construction, said Ethan Croce, Falmouth’s senior planner. The expanded store will include grocery, garden and pharmacy sections.

Advertisement

Ben Devine, representing owners of Falmouth Plaza, told board members he hoped to keep Regal in the plaza as long as possible, Croce said. Devine and other plaza representatives couldn’t be reached Thursday.

Without movie theaters in Falmouth, the nearest competition for Nordica Theatre would be Regal Cinemas in Brunswick and other theaters in Portland and South Portland.

Construction workers are still putting the finishing touches on Nordica Theatre, located in downtown Freeport, just off Main Street (Route 1), at Mill and Depot streets.

The theater is named after the late Lillian Nordica, a world-renowned opera singer who was born in Farmington in 1857, in recognition of her artistic excellence, Yebba said.

Freeport Village Station includes a free, 550-space parking garage and faces the planned Amtrak Downeaster train stop, both of which will help draw movie patrons, Yebba said.

The theater will be operated by Belmont Capital of Cambridge, Mass., which also runs Windham Five Star Cinema, Wells Five Star Cinema and Bangor Mall Cinemas.

Advertisement

“Freeport is a natural fit for us, especially with the other theaters we have in Maine,” said Mark Benvenuto, Belmont’s vice president of operations. “We hope to attract locals and extend the visitor’s day here.”

The theater’s boutique-style furnishings include a cherry- and oak-trimmed concession stand with a granite countertop, Benvenuto said. It will offer usual movie fare and feature gourmet food items, including some local favorites.

The screening rooms are relatively small — 93 to 165 seats each — but still feature stadium seating, Benvenuto said. And the theater is fully digital, including two silver screens necessary to show 3-D films.

“We’re going to give people a reason to come to Freeport beyond shopping,” Yebba said.

The first-week lineup will include “Ides of March,” “Footloose” and Puss in Boots.” Future offerings will include “The Muppets,” “Hugo” and “Arthur Christmas.”

Staff Writer Kelley Bouchard can be contacted at 791-6328 or at kbouchard@pressherald.com

 


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.