Under new owner, the Mall of America's movie theater will reopen around February or March

After closing more than a year ago, the movie theaters in Mall of America are expected to reopen soon.

CMX Cinemas at Mall of America announced Tuesday that it is now hiring for about 150 positions, but it did not specify an opening date. Mall officials speculated that it may be February or March.

The company announced in early 2017 that the theaters would reopen in the fall. No reason has been given for the delay. CMX opened its first U.S. theater in Miami in September and has since opened locations in New Jersey and near Chicago.

CMX reported last year that the Mall of America theater will have the same number of screens as before, 14, but half as many seats. Luxury recliners take up more space, cutting the number from 2,200 to 1,110.

The new theater is billed as a luxury experience, but it comes at a price. Tickets at CMX in other markets run $25 to $27 for matinees and evening showings, but prices at Mall of America may be lower due to different food service options. That would easily be the highest movie ticket price in the Twin Cities.

Kailey Tillung, a student at St. Benedict near St. Cloud who shopped at Mall of America last week, said her upper limit for a movie is $12. "Maybe $25 if the ticket price includes dinner," she said.

Details are yet to be announced, but other CMX luxury theaters sport a luxury bar and lounge, full-service dining before, during or after a movie, laser projector technology, a mobile app for purchasing tickets and food in advance or during the movie, USB ports for phone charging at the seat, and extra storage at the seat for purses and shopping bags.

Guests can nosh on a wide variety of standard fare such as popcorn but also handcrafted pizza, burgers, shakes, steak, salmon and Hollywood-inspired cocktails.

CMX, a division of Mexico City-based Cinemex, has 30 sites and 342 screens in venues around the U.S. Last year, it purchased the Paragon theater locations in Burnsville and Rochester. Cinemex is one of the 10 largest cinema chains in the world with more than 300 sites and 2,700 screens.

Job applicants can inquire at a kiosk at Mall of America or go to www.cmxcinemas.com/join-our-team. The kiosk, located on level one between Macy's and L.L. Bean, is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

John Ewoldt • 612-673-7633