Multi-screen movie theater to open at Christiana Mall

The Christiana Mall recently announced plans for a 17-screen, digital movie theater. The theater is expected to be “cutting edge,” with the latest in cinema technology equipped to make it a high-tech experience, according to mall officials. 

Larry Tarabicos, a lawyer who works closely with the project, said the theater will provide a well-rounded experience for visitors. He said the movie theater will be adjacent to the bus stop and parking lot facilities, allowing pedestrians to eliminate potential traffic and parking issues.

“People use [the bus] already, senior citizens and moderate income families,” Tarabicos said. “Now they can take the bus, go eat, go to the movies and only have to walk within a hundred feet of all of those.”

He said he expects construction of the theater to go relatively smoothly, because the three most recent additions to the mall area were completed with minimal difficulty.

“New Castle County has been fantastic to work with,” Tarabicos said. 

Senior Jennifer Gingold said she is excited for the new theater because she goes to the movies once or twice a month. Although she usually goes to the Newark Cinema, she said she would go to the mall to see a movie because of the larger film selection.

“I know that the one down in Newark offers a student discount of $7 with ID, and you can’t really beat that,” Gingold said. “However, the one [there] only shows like two to three movies at a time.” 

She said the only reason the theater might not be appealing to students is because movies are easy to watch online. With sites such as Netflix available, students may not be willing to make the trip to the theaters, she said.

“Being a college student, you don’t really have 12 bucks to dish out as often as you would like to,” Gingold said. “I feel like they could find better ways to spend their money.”

Senior Chelsea Schmidt said she does not usually go to the movies and would rather just wait for the movie to be released on DVD.

“I kind of just go when my friends bring me,” Schmidt said. “I’m not a very big movie theater-goer.”

Although she admitted she does not spend much money on trips to the movies, she said she would rather spend time and money on a worthwhile experience when she does. 

She said would travel farther to go to a theater for the atmosphere and enjoys the comfort of Regal Peoples Plaza Cinema 17. 

Schmidt said she does not go to the mall too often and in the three years she has been a student, she has gone there approximately three or four times. 

The Christiana Mall and surrounding area will only benefit from a movie theater, and students will feel the benefits as well, she said.