BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN)...Can Michael Jackson, Alfred Hitchcock and James Bond help bring more people back into the Theatre District and downtown Buffalo?
The answer may come in the next 24 hours as one of movies that will help the re-branded and revived Scene One Market Arcade 8 cinema complex make its debut is a bio pic on Jackson, the late singer.
"I could see it as a draw," said Joe Masher, Scene One CEO.
The Scene One cinemas, an 8-screen complex at 639 Main Street, is opening just four months after AMC pulled out of the Market Arcade complex.
Market Arcade cinemas landlord, the Amherst-based Benchmark Group, invested north of $9 million in an attempt to court Scene One.
It worked.
Masher said he feels under Scene One's business model, the cinemas can be successful.
Plans call for a mix of first-run movies, some independent films and a healthy dose of special events and themed-runs like ones featuring James Bond flicks or Alfred Hitchcock classics in October.
Reviving the theaters is critical to an overall plan aimed at bringing a swagger to downtown Buffalo and the Theatre District.
"It has to happen," Mayor Sean Ryan said.
Developer and Buffalo Place Inc. board member/secretary Chris Jacobs says don't under estimate the impact the Scene One theaters can bring to downtown.
"This is a critical piece," Jacobs said. "Looking at their (Scene One) game plan, it will energize that space more than we've every seen before."
Scene One Market Arcade 8 cinemas re-opens today
Scene One Market Arcade 8 cinemas re-opens today
