Tara Theatre Closes

Tara Theatre closes its doors after more than 50 years

Tara Theatre showed both art house and mainstream films during its nearly 54 years in business, including “Star Wars” and “Smokey and the Bandit.”

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By Sammie Purcell and Collin Kelley

After more than 50 years, the Tara Theatre has closed its doors.

Rumors spread on social media in 2020 that the Atlanta art house cinema – which has been open since 1968 – would close, but those proved to be false. This time, however, the rumors were true.

“As part of our real estate optimization strategy, Regal has made the decision to close our Regal Tara theatre as we continue to position our company for long-term growth,” said Regal VP of Communications Richard Grover in a statement. “We are working to support our employees through this transition, and we thank them for helping to make us the ‘Best Place to Watch a Movie.’”

Grover said that other Regal cinemas in the area, including Atlantic Station, Hollywood N-185, and Perimeter Pointe, are open and operating as normal.

“We look forward to continuing to serve our guests and members at these locations and providing them with the most memorable cinema experiences,” Grover said.

Movie fans flooded social media with remembrances of seeing movies at the cinema, located at the corner of Cheshire Bridge and Lavista roads.

The movie house was originally opened by Loew’s before becoming one of the Lefont Theatres and then being acquired by Regal.

The constant during the change in ownerships is that the Tara, named after Scarlett O’Hara’s plantation in “Gone With the Wind,” consistently played a mix of mainstream, art house, indie, and foreign films.

The Tara was one of the first in Atlanta to screen “Star Wars” as well as Atlantalensed “Smokey and the Bandit” and “Driving Miss Daisy.”

The only art house cinemas left in the city are Plaza Theatre in Poncey-Highland and Landmark’s Midtown Art Cinema.

The future of the Tara building and property remains unknown.