Saratoga Business Journal Photo
By Christine Graf
Troy native Joseph Masher, owner and CEO of Scene One Entertainment, has announced plans to reopen the cinemas at Wilton Mall. Prior to establishing Scene One, Masher was COO of Bow Tie Cinemas, the oldest movie theater chain in America. After purchasing Bow Tie in August, he established his headquarters in the Capital Region and renamed the company Scene One Entertainment.16
“I just moved back home after being away for 34 years,” he said. “My connection to the area is very strong.”
Masher has decades of industry experience and managed his first movie theater when he was just 17 years old. He is an executive board member of the National Association of Theater Owners, a member of the Library of Congress Film Board, and the past-president of the Theatre Historical Society of America. He currently operates theaters in Schenectady, Manhattan, South Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, Texas, and Colorado.
According to Masher, he hopes to have the Wilton Mall theaters opened by mid-February.
“I want to get them open as soon as possible. I would open it today if I had the projector parts, but the projectors need upgrading. The theater is fully intact and ready to go, and we’re just waiting for projection parts.”
During Masher’s time at Bow Tie, the company operated the eight-screen cinema at Wilton Mall, one that was closed as a result of the pandemic.
“I opened those theaters on my birthday in 2013, and I’m really excited to get them back open again,” he said.
The theater will be staffed by two to three full-time employees and 25 part-time employees. Although ticket prices have not been finalized, Masher said prices will be “family friendly” and more affordable than other local theaters. Discounted family four packs will also be available for sale.
The concessions menu will feature hot food offerings including chicken tenders, mozzarella sticks, French fries, and mini-pizzas. Beer and wine will be served as soon as the theater receives its liquor license.
“In the future, I’m looking at doing a beer garden that goes out from the front of the theater to the food court. That’s something I am exploring, and there are no solid plans for that yet,” said Masher. “We’re also looking to do some live comedy shows and open mic nights.”
The theater industry suffered greatly as a result of the pandemic, but Masher is bullish when it comes to the future.
“As long as we get a steady diet of movies for every taste as we were getting pre-COVID, the industry will be fine and will have a full recovery,” he said. “We suffered post-COVID when people were scared to come back. People blamed streaming, and that might be responsible for some of the loss in the movie theater business, but just because you have a kitchen in your home doesn’t mean that you don’t want to go out to a restaurant. People still like to get out. They still like to have an out-of-home experience, and we are still the least expensive form of that.”
Masher acknowledged that the movie theater will be impacted by the recent actors’ and writers’ strikes.
“That is our next hurdle,” he said. “Some of the studios have pushed their movies off of the 2024 calendar because they weren’t able to finish them or promote them properly because the actors weren’t allowed to promote their movies. So, any hopes for a full recovery in 2024 are low because of the strike. I do think 2024 is going to be a better year than 2023, but, in my opinion, we won’t be back to our pre-pandemic levels until 2025.”
Masher remains focused on growing his business nationwide and is exploring the possibility of acquiring another theater chain. He also recently purchased Huck Finn’s Playland in Albany, a place he visited as a child.
“I used to ride a little tiny Ferris wheel which I now own,” he said. “The rides are still in amazing condition even though they are 50+ years old.”
When Huck Finn’s Playland opens for its 72nd season this spring, it will be business as usual. Masher does plan to upgrade the food offerings and promote the birthday party program. He said he also has another possible business venture in the works.
“I hopefully will be able to make another announcement in next few weeks about something on working on,” he said.