The closure was announced with little advance warning to the public. At approximately 8am on Monday morning, Reading Cinemas posted a simple notice to Instagram stating that the Grossmont location was permanently closed effective immediately. The announcement offered few details beyond directing patrons to the company's Angelika Film Center & Café in Carmel Mountain Ranch.
For many customers, the social media post was their first indication that the theater was shutting down. Comments quickly filled with expressions of shock, disappointment, and nostalgia from longtime patrons who had frequented the theater for nearly two decades.
The sudden closure follows an April WARN notice filed with the State of California indicating that 63 employees would be impacted by the shutdown. According to that filing, Reading International cited "the loss of our lease at this location" as the reason for the closure, with layoffs scheduled between May 31 and June 15 as employees assist with winding down operations.
The theater's closure marks another major milestone in the ongoing transformation of Grossmont Center, one of East County's most recognizable retail destinations. Opened in 1961, the nearly one-million-square-foot outdoor shopping center has served generations of La Mesa residents and has recently become the focus of an ambitious redevelopment effort led by Maryland-based Federal Realty Investment Trust.
Last summer, the La Mesa City Council unanimously approved the first phase of a multi-stage renovation plan intended to modernize the aging center. The project includes updated storefronts, new landscaping, improved lighting, expanded gathering spaces, and a broader effort to reposition Grossmont Center as a contemporary mixed-use destination comparable to projects such as One Paseo and Fashion Valley. Reading Cinemas' 52,000-square-foot theater was among the spaces identified for future redevelopment.
Earlier this year, Grossmont Center owner Federal Realty Investment Trust confirmed that a replacement theater operator is already part of its long-term redevelopment strategy. During a January interview with, Federal Realty executives stated that while Reading Cinemas would eventually depart, the shopping center intends to retain a movie theater as part of a sweeping $50 million modernization project currently underway. Company officials indicated that phase two of the redevelopment is expected to include a new cinema operator, though no replacement tenant has yet been publicly announced.
While the loss of the theater may sting for longtime patrons, mall ownership appears committed to maintaining a movie theater presence at the center. The closure also represents the latest step in Reading International's steady retreat from San Diego County.
In April 2025, Reading Cinemas permanently shuttered its Clairemont Town Square location, leaving Clairemont without a neighborhood movie theater. Prior to that, the company closed its upscale Gaslamp Quarter theater in downtown San Diego in 2016. With Grossmont now gone, Reading Cinemas no longer operates any traditional multiplex theaters in San Diego County. Only the company's Angelika Film Center & Café in Carmel Mountain Ranch remains.
The shrinking footprint reflects broader challenges facing the movie theater industry. The COVID-19 pandemic devastated attendance, while the 2023 Hollywood writers' and actors' strikes disrupted the flow of new content into theaters. At the same time, streaming platforms have fundamentally changed consumer viewing habits, allowing audiences to watch major releases from home rather than purchasing movie tickets.
Reading International has acknowledged those industry pressures in communications with investors and has spent recent years closing underperforming locations throughout the United States while concentrating resources elsewhere.
Ironically, the closure comes just as Grossmont Center itself is attempting to reinvent its future. The shopping center remains home to major tenants including Target, Walmart, Barnes & Noble, BJ's Restaurant, Panera Bread, and Casa de Pico, while redevelopment efforts continue throughout the property. Whether a new theater operator ultimately takes over the space remains to be seen.
For now, however, East County moviegoers are left saying goodbye to a theater that served the community since 2008, hosted countless first dates, family outings, summer blockbusters, and discount Tuesday screenings, and stood as one of the last remnants of a moviegoing era that continues to disappear across San Diego County.
With the closure of Grossmont and last year's shutdown of the Clairemont location, Reading Cinemas' presence in San Diego has effectively been reduced from a once-prominent regional theater chain to a single specialty cinema in Carmel Mountain Ranch.
And for many longtime customers, the most surprising part wasn't that another theater closed—it was how suddenly it happened.
While the loss of the theater may sting for longtime patrons, mall ownership appears committed to maintaining a movie theater presence at the center. The closure also represents the latest step in Reading International's steady retreat from San Diego County.
In April 2025, Reading Cinemas permanently shuttered its Clairemont Town Square location, leaving Clairemont without a neighborhood movie theater. Prior to that, the company closed its upscale Gaslamp Quarter theater in downtown San Diego in 2016. With Grossmont now gone, Reading Cinemas no longer operates any traditional multiplex theaters in San Diego County. Only the company's Angelika Film Center & Café in Carmel Mountain Ranch remains.
The shrinking footprint reflects broader challenges facing the movie theater industry. The COVID-19 pandemic devastated attendance, while the 2023 Hollywood writers' and actors' strikes disrupted the flow of new content into theaters. At the same time, streaming platforms have fundamentally changed consumer viewing habits, allowing audiences to watch major releases from home rather than purchasing movie tickets.
Reading International has acknowledged those industry pressures in communications with investors and has spent recent years closing underperforming locations throughout the United States while concentrating resources elsewhere.
Ironically, the closure comes just as Grossmont Center itself is attempting to reinvent its future. The shopping center remains home to major tenants including Target, Walmart, Barnes & Noble, BJ's Restaurant, Panera Bread, and Casa de Pico, while redevelopment efforts continue throughout the property. Whether a new theater operator ultimately takes over the space remains to be seen.
For now, however, East County moviegoers are left saying goodbye to a theater that served the community since 2008, hosted countless first dates, family outings, summer blockbusters, and discount Tuesday screenings, and stood as one of the last remnants of a moviegoing era that continues to disappear across San Diego County.
With the closure of Grossmont and last year's shutdown of the Clairemont location, Reading Cinemas' presence in San Diego has effectively been reduced from a once-prominent regional theater chain to a single specialty cinema in Carmel Mountain Ranch.
And for many longtime customers, the most surprising part wasn't that another theater closed—it was how suddenly it happened.
Originally published on June 1, 2026.