Q: Have you heard when the Hollywood Regal will open again? Don’t understand what is taking so long. Miss going to our favorite theater.

— B. Siran, North Naples 

A: The renovation project at Hollywood 20 cinema in North Naples has been stepped up recently, but work is far from complete at a business that has been shuttered since Hurricane Irma swept through the area in September 2017.

In addition to repairing hurricane damage — which amounted to repairing part of the roof and replacing water-logged drywall, ceiling tiles and insulation — Regal Entertainment Group decided to completely renovate the 23-year-old building off Naples Boulevard. The cinema basically was gutted to its shell and rebuilt inside and out.

“The theatre is being completely revamped as part of the refurbishment after the hurricane. Regal is adding new technologies that you’ll be excited to experience, including 4DX and IMAX,” emailed Heather Peters, director of public relations, from Regal’s corporate headquarters in Knoxville, Tennessee. “I look forward to sharing more details in the near future.”

At the end of December, Peters said Regal was planning to reopen the Naples theaters in the early second quarter of this year. With construction workers scrambling to finish extensive work yet to be done, the company is adhering to this plan.

“We are still targeting early second quarter, but an exact opening date is yet to be determined,” Peters said last week. “I will be in touch soon once information is available. Thank you for following up.”

The second quarter begins in two weeks. The “early second quarter” would stretch to mid-May.

Regal has begun rehiring for Hollywood 20 positions. Jobs were posted online Feb. 19 for a full-time “Team Lead” and a part-time bartender. Jobs were posted Tuesday for part-time “floor staff” and “cast members” in Naples.

The eventual grand reopening of the cinema will reveal an expanded concession area and menu, the addition of a bar, conversion of traditional flip-chair theater seats to rockers or recliners, and the creation of the first IMAX theater in Collier County. IMAX uses a film format that displays images of greater size and resolution than conventional movies. The only IMAX screen in Southwest Florida is at Regal Gulf Coast Stadium 16 in Gulf Coast Town Center.

A 117-page “luxury seating conversion” plan filed with the county’s Growth Management Department shows that eight of the theaters will have recliners. Eleven theaters — including the 227-seat IMAX theater — will have rocker-style seats. One 144-seat theater will be equipped with 4DX motion seats, a state-of-the-art technology providing an immersive cinematic experience with up-down, left-right and backward-forward tilting movements and environmental effects to mimic on-screen actions such as flying and driving.

Architectural plans show that converting to roomier recliners in some theaters will leave Hollywood 20 with 1,957 seats, about one-third fewer seats than the business had when it opened in in late 1995.

The cinema’s concession and bar areas have been expanded into the large open lobby space between the previous concession area and the cinema’s box offices at its main entrances. The center box office of the three exterior kiosks has been permanently removed and will be replaced by entrance doors, plans show.

Renovation activity is clearly apparent. The large “Hollywood 20” sign recently was removed while the cinema’s façade is being patched and painted. A section of the western parking lot remains a staging area, with storage containers and construction materials. 

Know more

► Duck Donuts outparcel underway at Park Shore Plaza in Naples

► Lucky’s Market opening April 17 near Hollywood 20 in North Naples

► Newk’s Eatery now open near Hollywood 20 on Naples Boulevard

Have a local question? Email it with your name and city of residence to intheknow@naplesnews.com. Tim Aten’s “In the Know” is published every Monday and Wednesday. Follow In the Know on Facebook now at facebook.com/timaten.intheknow.

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