Fox East movie theater to close after nearly 50 years

It’s the end of an era for movie fans in Berks County.

Wyomissing-based Fox Theatres has announced that it will be closing Fox East, its four-screen movie theater in the Reading Mall.

The last day of business for the nearly 50-year-old theater will be Sept. 19.

Fox East was opened by the family-owned Fox Theatres in 1971 as Berks County’s first multi-screen movie theater. It was a two-screen, or twin, movie theater.

Fox Theatres, which was founded in 1957, continues to operate the much larger and more modern Fox Berkshire, which is an eight-screen theater in Wyomissing.

“Fox East has a rich movie history and a devoted customer base, but lately has struggled to maintain its audience as we’ve upgraded our Fox Berkshire 8-screen theater in Wyomissing,” said Donald Fox, president of Fox Theatres. “We considered upgrading Fox East, however it wasn’t cost effective.”

The Berkshire theater has such amenities as a full kitchen and bar and heated-reclining seats.

Vicki Graff, executive assistant for Fox, said the Fox East theater had been updated in recent years, but lacked many of the amenities of its sister theater.

Meanwhile, Fox plans to upgrade the Berkshire location and will be adding four screens in 2020.

Fox Theatres owns the building that Fox East is located in, Graff said. Fox Theatres is currently exploring options for adapting the building for a different use, but has no immediate plans.