Dec. 10, 1999

As Northeast Pennsylvania was getting ready to say goodbye to General Cinemas, it said hello to Cinemark.

Construction got underway on the 20-theater multiplex on Glenmaura National Boulevard in Moosic in May 1998. Once construction was finished, the complex had 4,874 seats total. The larger theaters had 500 seats, while the smaller theaters had 150 to 250 seats. It also was to feature three concession stands, a dessert/coffee bar and an arcade.

people at the movies

Jason Kwiatkowski, left, of Old Forge collects tickets from Kathleen Rejrat of Scranton, her husband, Ed, and son, Wally, as Cinemark USA Inc. worker A.J. Jones of Moosic looks on at Tuesday, Dec. 7, 1999 sneak preview of the Cinemark ‘megaplex’ on Montage Mountain. Times-Shamrock Archives

Moviegoers were ready and had a lot to choose from on opening night: “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo,” “The Green Mile,” “The World Is Not Enough,” “Music of the Heart,” “The Bone Collector,” “End of Days,” “Sleepy Hollow,” “The Sixth Sense,” “The Messenger: Joan of Arc,” “Toy Story 2,” “Anywhere But Here,” “The Bachelor,” “Double Jeopardy” and “Pokemon: The First Movie — Mewtwo vs. Mew.”

Tickets cost $7 for adults, $5 for children under 12 and $4.50 for seniors. Tickets for shows before 6 p.m. cost $5.

A few weeks after Cinemark’s opening, General Cinemas at the Viewmont Mall showed its last films on Jan. 17, 2000. General Cinemas opened at the mall on Nov. 1, 1973, with “American Graffiti,” “MASH” and “Walking Tall.” The theater’s closure was announced in April 1999. The final four movies shown there were “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo,” “The Green Mile,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and “American Beauty.”

building

General Cinemas at the Viewmont Mall. Times-Shamrock Archives

The theater later was torn down to make way for a Borders bookstore, which now houses Books-A-Million.

A few trailers from opening night at Cinemark  –