Home Industries Hospitality & Tourism Mall receiver wants to replace Providence Place cinema operator

Mall receiver wants to replace Providence Place cinema operator

By

Katie Castellani

-

09/25/2025

Common areas of the Providence Place Mall.PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO — PROVIDENCE PLACE mall’s managers wants to terminate the lease with National Amusement and lease the space that is occupied by Providence Place Cinemas 16 to another movie theater chain. PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

PROVIDENCE – Providence Place mall’s managers are looking to replace the shopping center’s movie theater operator. According to court documents filed Sept. 19, National Amusement’s lease for the space that is occupied by Providence Place Cinemas 16 ends Jan. 31 and they don’t plan to extend it. Mark Russo, a court-appointed lawyer running the mall,

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1 COMMENT

Kevin Derby 09/25/2025 At 12:08 pm

During the closure people are going to cease going to those theaters, and they won’t return when it reopens under new ownership.

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PROVIDENCE – Providence Place mall’s managers are looking to replace the shopping center’s movie theater operator. According to court documents filed Sept. 19, National Amusement’s lease for the space that is occupied by Providence Place Cinemas 16 ends Jan. 31 and they don’t plan to extend it. Mark Russo, a court-appointed lawyer running the mall, says he wants to terminate the lease before it expires and find another movie theater operator to take over the space. “We feel confident that we’ll soon be in position to announce a new tenant to continue a first-class movie and entertainment experience at Providence Place,” Russo said in a statement to Providence Business News on Wednesday. Superior Court Judge Brian P. Stern appointed Russo and John Dorsey as permanent receivers of the financially struggling retail outlet in November 2024. Dorsey had to withdraw from the case when he was named a U.S. bankruptcy judge, a role he began earlier this month. The mall went into receivership last year after the former owner, Brookfield Properties and subsidiary GGP-Providence Place LLC, defaulted on more than $250 million in loans. Because National Amusement’s lease for the theater was signed with Brookfield, Russo must get court approval to end the agreement early. Russo is also asking the court to allow the mall keep equipment and furniture used to operate the theater. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Oct. 3 in Providence County Superior Court. National Amusements has been running the Providence Place Cinemas 16 since late 2003, when it purchased the operation from Northeast Cinemas. In 2008, National Amusements announced it purchased the Feinstein IMAX Theatre located in the mall from IMAX Corp. Providence Place Cinemas 16, which occupies just over 128,000-square-feet, was the largest contributor to the mall’s rent in 2023 – accounting for 9.8% of Providence Place’s total base rent collections for the year ending September 2023, according to a report issued by Kroll Bond Rating Agency last year. Katie Castellani is a PBN staff writer. You may contact her at Castellani@PBN.com.