Come back with me...it's a Friday night and you and your friends are headed to the movies. Once you get there, you grab your tickets and bask in the ambiance that is the concession stand popcorn smell before heading off to theater number 7 down the hall to your right.

Now for our feature presentation.

Good memories, right? For some of us, that's a memory dating back to high school. For others, that's a memory from early last year. If you miss going to the movies, passing by the Regal's Hollywood Theaters & RPX at 3070 N Eastman Road in Longview is a sad sight. It's been closed for a very long time, and it got me wondering - will it ever reopen?

Regal announced in October that it would be closing all of its theaters nationwide, but we saw this theater close at some point in the middle of last year. Since then, the theater's parking lot has hosted car meets, tractor trailer overnight stays, and our fair share of tumbleweeds. But now there may be good news on the horizon.

On Tuesday morning (March 23), Regal Cinemas announced that its theaters would be reopening in April. The reopening is supposed to begin April 2 at limited capacity based on local guidelines. Of course, we now know that there are no capacity limitations as required by the state of Texas, however, the cinema does have the authority to limit capacity if it chooses to.

"We have long-awaited this moment," Mooky Greidinger, the chief executive of Cineworld (who owns Regal Cinemas), said in a statement. "With capacity restrictions expanding to 50% or more across most U.S. states, we will be able to operate profitably in our biggest markets."

The U.S. reopenings will line up with the release of Warner Bros.' Godzilla vs. Kong and later in the month on April 16 with Mortal Kombat.

Cineworld has also reached an agreement with Warner Bros. for a 45-day window of exclusively showing the studio's films before they hit streaming services.

Here's to hoping our Longview Regal location sees a new life. There are a lot of jobs and families counting on it.

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