Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Fade to black: Movieworld goes out in style


After 35 years in business, Movieworld said goodbye to Eastern Queens (and Nassau County) yesterday, but not before throwing a sweet party.


The mall above MW. Macy's was to the left
of the Toys R Us (far right). There are stairways
that lead to MW below.

The "Coming Soon" posters were replaced with
photos of fans and former staff members.


MW was the busiest I had ever seen it — not even when I saw The Force Awakens was it like this. (Of course, I had never been there on a Friday or a weekend, but still...) A live DJ spun music from 1983, the inaugural year, and admission and snacks were rolled back to 1983 prices: $2.50 for a movie, $1 for popcorn and candy. I cheated on my diet by buying a large Kit Kat, but it was the last one I would ever buy there, so it was for a good cause!


The cafe


There was a raffle, in which the prizes included posters and dolls and things like that. I had arrived late and didn't get one (not that I needed an Incredibles 2 poster that badly), but I stayed longer than I had planned. I just wanted to soak up the atmosphere.



The publicity for the party placed a big emphasis on the diversity of MW's audience. I had always thought Douglaston was a white neighborhood, and maybe it is, I dunno, but their multi-culti fans were a point of pride for MW. Indeed, I saw blacks, whites, Latinos, Filipinos, youngsters, old people, a little bit of everybody. So good on MW for encouraging that sort of thing.


The box office


Like I said before, I hadn't come to this place for long but I'm glad I discovered it when I did. If I had grown up in Douglaston or Bayside or Oakland Gardens, I have no doubt I would have come here all the time.

MW still believes they'll find a new location in the future. Here's hoping they do.


3 comments:

  1. Even Northeastern Queens is very diverse these days,including my neighborhood (Oakland Gardens.) Movieworld is my local theater, and I'm sad to see it go. :-(

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  2. You know, OG is one of the few parts of Queens I've never been to? One day I'll have to take a look.

    Sorry you couldn't make it. The party was really good.

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  3. If there must be a last hurrah, that is the way to do it!

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