Luxe Theater Chain Closing Locations Amid Bankruptcy Proceedings
A Florida-based luxury movie theater chain entered bankruptcy again and is seeking to sell off some of its assets.
IPic Theaters filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy Feb. 25, succumbing to a host of industry challenges, including lagging customer attendance, rising labor and rent costs, and having to share high percentages of its box office take with film studios, according to its filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in West Palm Beach.
IPic, which operates 13 dine-in theaters with 100 total screens and eight restaurants, grossed $112.5M in revenue but posted a loss of more than $19M in 2025, according to the filing.
The chain has estimated assets of between $10M and $50M and liabilities of $1M to $10M, including owing more than $140K in taxes, $2.7M in outstanding unsecured obligations and over $2M in owed wages at the time of the filing.
“Attendance at movie theaters has remained significantly below pre-pandemic levels due to the lasting changes in consumer behavior,” iPic stated in its bankruptcy case management summary filed with the court.
This is iPic’s second go-round with bankruptcy. The chain also filed for bankruptcy protection in 2019 over increased competition and elevated construction costs, said Joseph Luzinski, a senior managing director with Development Specialists Inc. and the financial adviser of record for iPic, according to his declaration filed in bankruptcy court.
The Retirement Systems of Alabama bought the theater-and-restaurant chain that same year, and it reemerged from bankruptcy before the end of 2019. However, the pandemic hit shortly after, bringing the theater industry “to a screeching halt,” Luzinski said in the filing.
IPic will reportedly close both of its Los Angeles County locations, in Westwood and Pasadena, as well as a theater in Redmond, Washington, on April 28.
It also filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice in Atlanta last month informing state officials it was shuttering its movie theater in Midtown Atlanta and its attached Serena Pastificio Atlanta restaurant, also on April 28. It is reportedly seeking to sell the Serena concept to outside investors, according to Tomorrow's News Today-Atlanta.
More closings are likely. In its bankruptcy filing, iPic said it will evaluate the performance and disposition of its locations, including whether some can be “sold, assigned or otherwise monetized” while negotiating “consensual resolutions with landlords, film studios and other stakeholders.”
“The debtor believes that liquidation … will provide the most efficient and value-maximizing path forward, while preserving the going-concern value where possible and ensuring an orderly wind-down of its affairs,” Luzinski said in court documents.
IPic is the latest casualty in a struggling industry still striving to lure customers back to theaters in the numbers seen before the pandemic. U.S. movie screen numbers shrank roughly 12% to 38,000 between 2020 and 2024, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data obtained by Bisnow.
Last month, AMC reported that attendance at its theaters dropped 10% in Q4 2025 when compared to the same period in 2024. Its net loss was $127.4M for that quarter, according to Hollywood Reporter. And last year, both Miami-based CMX Cinemas and theater chain Cinemaworld of Florida fell into chapter 11.
Regal Cineworld, the operator of Regal Cinemas, entered and emerged from bankruptcy in 2022 after cutting a number of locations and tackling its debt load, which included a refinanced $1.9B loan in 2024 that extended maturities out to the end of 2031, Variety previously reported.
This continued decline comes even as theaters invest heavily in turning existing locations into premium large-format experiences with upgraded screens, better food and beverage options, and enhanced sound systems. Between September 2024 and September 2025, U.S. theater operators shelled out $1.5B to upgrade cinema spaces, the trade association Cinema United reported.
