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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The future of San Marco’s iconic movie theater is now up in the air, according to News4JAX news partner the Jacksonville Daily Record.
The San Marco Theatre marquee currently says “Love Actually” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” are being shown through Jan. 31, but beyond that, the website doesn’t show any upcoming movies.
Since it was built in 1938, the San Marco Theatre has been a Jacksonville staple. It was a longtime favorite for Russ Daley before he and his family moved.
“My wife and I used to walk there from the house, like, almost every weekend to see a movie and eat good food and just such an amazing experience to sit down at the table,” said Daley, who previously lived in San Marco.
But now its future in the River City is in question. According to the Daily Record, the current property owner says it has not been given “final information” from the tenant.
ding to the speculation, Daley said that he went to see a film Tuesday night, he was told the theater would be closing its doors.
“I went to talk to them about the place and how nice it looks, and they’d renovated some things, and then they said they’re closing at the end of the year,” Daley said. “And it was just so sad.”
The Daily Record goes on to quote the property owner as saying small movie theatres overall have struggled to regain traction in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. More people are streaming movies at home.
Like most theaters, the San Marco Theatre closed in March 2020 but reopened in September 2021.
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The theater closed again earlier this year and reopened in May following a round of renovations. It showed “Top Gun Maverick,” the sequel to the 1980s classic starring Tom Cruise.
The question of the theatre’s future as a movie house comes just a few years after new owners took over the business in 2019.
New owners took over the business in 2019. Up until that new ownership, David and Sue Blue ran it for more than two decades. When the couple announced the theatre was changing hands, they told News4JAX: “It is time for fresh new eyes to continue on and keep the San Marco Theatre going for another generation.”
Daley told News4JAX that he is disappointed.
“Really sad,” Daley said. “My son still lives here in Jacksonville, so I was looking forward to keeping on coming here, and it’s really disappointing.”
The Daily Record also reports that the property owner says, even though the theatre’s next move is unclear, one thing is certain, the building will not be demolished.
News4JAX has reached out to the theatre directly for comment to see where it goes from here and is waiting to hear back.
