Iconic Jersey Shore movie theater to reopen following pandemic closure

A landmark movie theater at the Jersey Shore is getting a second chance after it closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Atlantic Cinemas in Atlantic Highlands opened a century ago, but had to go dark during the pandemic shutdowns.
“As I say to everybody when they’re like, ‘Congratulations,’ I say, “Well thank you. I’m freaking out,’” says theater operator Tony Zertuche.
Zertuche admits that this is an uncertain time to be running a movie theater. But the Atlantic Highlands playwright with a film degree says that movies have always fascinated him.
He has leased the five-auditorium theater, which was closed by its owner-operator last year. He plans to reopen it next month.
“I’ve had so many people say to me, 'That’s where I met my wife, or had my first date. That’s where my parents met,’” Zertuche says.
He says that he is counting on community nostalgia and the post-pandemic desire to get out to do things.
The box office has been uneven since the pandemic began, with as many as 25% of theaters still closed in the U.S. “A Quiet Place Park II” made pandemic box office records in ticket sales. But “In The Heights” failed to hit the box office high note that the industry was anticipating on.
Zertuche says that he plans to show blockbuster movies, as well as art house and indie films. The theater will be renamed The Atlantic.