'I'm Truly Sad': Last Audience Ever Turns Out For Final Showing At Hampton Bays Movie Theater

HAMPTON BAYS, NY — The message was simple and heartfelt, a farewell to moviegoers walking up to the Regal UA Hampton Bays movie theater Thursday night, one last time: "Closed. Thank you for 28 years."

Dozens turned out Thursday for the theater's final showings after learning this week that the curtain would be falling on the cinema.

The Regal media team shared a statement: "Unfortunately, Regal has made the difficult decision to cease operations at Regal Hampton Bays to optimize our theatre network and better position our company for long-term growth. Most importantly, we are working to support our team members at the Hampton Bays theatre during this process, and we truly appreciate their continued hard work through the January 29 closing date."

The statement continued: "Lastly, Regal wants to extend sincere thanks to the local moviegoing community and our loyal customers for sharing many laughs, tears, and thrills with us at the theatre over the years."

The news was a blow to the community, which has long fought to keep the movie theater at its location at 119 W. Montauk Highway, where it had shown films to generations of movie-goers for decades.

Gathered in the theater for the final showing of the night, one man began clapping. Slowly, the crowd, comprised of old and young, began to clap, too.

"We're the last people to ever see a movie shown in this theater," the man called out. Looking around the seats, which were filled with many who'd turned out to see "Greenland 2: Migration," there was a mixture of sadness and melancholy as all present prepared to say their final good-byes.

In the lobby after the film, some took photos. Those who'd come to say farewell spoke with Patch about what the theater had meant to them.

"We went on our first date here, 19 years ago, in May 2007," Frank and Leah Petrignani of Aquebogue said.

Frank added: "It's a nostalgic place for us. When I saw it was closing, I knew we had to be here. It's poetic."

"I'm truly sad," Leah added. She recalled their first date; the couple ate at Gators in Hampton Bays, also now shuttered, then headed for a flick at the theater; they saw "Shrek."

Years later, they brought their daughter, now 12, to her first movie at the Hampton Bays theater.

Nick DiBari of East Quogue spent the last showing at the theater with his father, also named Nick, and his sister Christina. When asked how he felt, being in the theater for the last time, he said: "It was very nostalgic. It's like a time machine. It's sad. I came here all the time as a kid; this was a part of my childhood and now the doors are closing, literally and metaphorically."

DiBari, a "big movie fan," remembered birthday parties spent at the theater. He and his friends, he said, always ate pizza in the shopping plaza before heading to the movies. "There are a lot of memories here, for me and my buddies."

"It's sad that movies are a dying breed," his father Nick said. "Remember that song, 'Video Killed the Radio Star'? Streaming killed the movies."

This week, the owner of the theater's building and shopping plaza detailed plans to renovate the space in the hopes of finding a new tenant and beginning a new chapter in Hampton Bays. The inside of the movie theater will be demolished and a new space unveiled for the future tenants, he said.

But on Friday, it was a time for letting go of a space that for years, had been a touchstone. A place of magic and memories that only a local movie theater can conjure — the singular joy of sharing a cinematic experience with a rapt audience, the crowd hushed.

As guests headed for the doors, loyal longtime manager of the theater Mary Russo took the time to speak with patrons, sharing memories of happy days gone by.

And then, the lights went out as the last patrons walked through the doors, one final time, wiping away tears.

"I don't want to leave," one woman said.