Downtown Sudbury cinemas may be reopened

When the Rainbow Cinema in downtown Sudbury closed in September, it left the city with only one regular movie theatre.

Now, a group of citizens have made a formal pitch to re-open the six-screen movie house as a co-op.

Ian Carlyle is helping lead a group that wants to re-open the movie theatre. He said the Friends of a Downtown Indie Cinema are aiming to get it up and running by May.

"We have quite a bit of work to do in terms of sponsorship, gaining a member base," he said.

Yesterday, Carlyle helped present a business plan to the Rainbow Centre.

Mall manager Joe Vito said the facility is eager to get the theatre running again.

"I do believe there's a value to the complex having the cinemas here, and there's a greater value to the downtown and the city at large,” he said. “Tomorrow's not soon enough for me."

Vito said he likes the co-op proposal, though he is considering another pitch from a small chain company called Imagine Cinemas.

That means Carlyle will have to wait for an answer.

"Mall management [is] going to look at our offer very seriously for the next week,” he said. “We're basically waiting to see what kind of deal in principle, what they're willing to give. Then we can present our actual business plan. We hope to hear back in the next two weeks."

The theatre proposed by Carlyle's group would offer a mix of independent films, second run Hollywood movies and documentaries.