Up to Sept. 9, two companies ran 21 movie screens where Vanderbilt Beach Road meets US 41, just north of Pelican Bay. Alamo Drafthouse had 11 at Mercato, and Paragon Theaters had 10 at The Pavilion. Once Paragon's plan is finished, one company will run 17 screens there.
That change matters more than the brief gap between tenants. Pelican Bay's nearest movie nights are losing the choice between two operators. They will also have fewer screens than before, even though a dark theater is reopening. Most of the details are still being settled, so the timeline below sticks to what has been announced, what has been promised, and what is still open.
Three tenants in one second-floor room
The Mercato cinema space has changed hands quickly. Here is the sequence:
- 2009 to July 2023: Silverspot Cinema. Silverspot ran an 11-screen theater at Mercato for about 14 years. Naples Press reported that its lease ran out and the property manager didn't renew it.
- April 29, 2024: Alamo Drafthouse opens. It was the Austin chain's first Florida location, with 11 auditoriums, recliners, food and drinks served in the theater, and a movie-themed mini golf course.
- June 12, 2024: Sony buys Alamo. Less than two months after the Naples opening, Sony Pictures Entertainment bought the chain and put it in its Sony Pictures Experiences division. The mini golf course was later removed.
- Sept. 9, 2026: Alamo closes. The Naples Daily News reported that the theater closed after about two and a half years. It was the chain's only location in Florida.
- Target of Dec. 18, 2026: Paragon. The opening is planned, but no date is final.
That makes three operators in about three years in the same space. Each one has said the room should keep showing movies. In its closing statement, quoted by Naples Press, Alamo said it was "relieved to know that the building will continue operating as a movie theater under Paragon Theaters." Jamestown, the company that leases and manages Mercato, told the same paper that "entertainment continues to be an important part of our vision for the property" and that a new movie theater tenant was "in process."
Why the plan stops at 17 screens
Paragon's plan adds Mercato's 11 screens and removes four of its own. Michael Whalen, Paragon's co-CEO and co-owner, laid out the numbers to Gulfshore Business:
"We are trying to rationalize the screens in the marketplace and how many we have. So, ideally, I would like to have 11 screens at Mercato and six at Pavilion, so for a total of 17 screens."
He also told the publication that 17 screens in Naples is "the sweet spot."
Measured against the 21 screens that ran there until early September, that is four fewer screens across the two centers. Every one of them will also be run by the same company. For a weeknight movie, the choice is no longer between two chains with different menus, memberships and seats. It becomes a choice between two Paragon locations a short drive apart.
The Pavilion has already been through this kind of back-and-forth. Whalen told Gulfshore Business that the building started as a 10-screen theater, shrank to six screens when Tuesday Morning moved into part of it, and went back to 10 after Paragon took over the old Tuesday Morning space. If the plan goes ahead, The Pavilion returns to six screens.
What the rear building at The Pavilion could become
The four screens Paragon plans to close are in a separate 9,850-square-foot building at the back of the northwest corner of The Pavilion, at 833 Vanderbilt Beach Road. A hallway near the bar connects it to the main theater. Screens eight and nine are among them.
No new use has been chosen for the space. Gulfshore Business reported several options:
- Regency Centers, which owns the shopping center, takes the space back. Leasing agent Andrew Pressler said the company has the option to reclaim "the old Tuesday Morning box" and lease it to another tenant. He added that nothing is "fleshed out completely 100%."
- Another business moves in. Whalen said an indoor soccer operator has looked at the space. The cycle shop already in the center is also considering it for extra inventory space.
- Paragon keeps it and installs golf simulators. Whalen described a setup with "six or so golf simulators" connected through the existing hallway to the theater's bar and food service.
The golf simulator idea makes sense on cost, which is why it comes up. "I already have a kitchen. I already have the bar. I'm really just putting in simulators," Whalen told the publication. He said that makes the project cheaper for Paragon than for an outside business that would have to build a kitchen, bar and restrooms. If that happens, one of the four screens leaving The Pavilion would come back as a different kind of night out, still reached through the same lobby.
The opening date depends on the seats
Paragon's target for Mercato is Dec. 18, the day the new Avengers and Dune sequels come out. The company wants to rebuild the second-floor space with its Axis15 Extreme auditoriums, which have tilted screens, and its Lux Box dine-in recliners. Whalen described the Lux Box to Naples Press as "a high-end pod recliner where you can order food to your seat."
The seats will set the date more than the movie releases will. Whalen told Gulfshore Business that he doesn't want to open until every screen has Lux Box seating. "If the seats are delayed, which it looks like they are, it's probably a beginning of January event now," he said, adding that he was still aiming for the 18th. That puts the reopening either right before the holidays or just after New Year's, depending on a furniture delivery.
The lease itself was still described as unsigned in the most recent coverage. Gulfshore Business's story, updated Oct. 9, calls it a "likely lease." Naples Press used the phrase "not a done deal yet." Even so, Paragon's website already lists two Naples cinemas: The Pavilion at 833 Vanderbilt Beach Road, and Mercato at 9118 Strada Place, Unit 8205. The Mercato listing doesn't show showtimes yet.
Through the holidays, The Pavilion keeps all 10 screens
The Pavilion won't shrink before Mercato opens. Whalen told Gulfshore Business that the four rear screens will keep running, "probably minimally," until the end of the year. "We'll continue to operate the 10 screens at Naples through the holiday," he said.
For the rest of fall, that leaves one working cinema at this intersection, with 10 screens. If Mercato opens on Dec. 18, the two buildings could briefly have all 21 screens running again over the holidays. The planned total of 17 comes only after The Pavilion drops to six, and Whalen has tied that cut to the end of the year and to Mercato being open, with the Lux Box seats setting the timing.
Mercato's calendar keeps going while the theater upstairs is dark. Taste of Mercato is scheduled for Nov. 7. On Pelican Bay Boulevard, the Baker Museum's two new exhibitions opened Oct. 17. The Surrealist International runs through Feb. 14, 2027, and Florida Contemporary 2026–27 runs through June 27, 2027.
Whichever building you choose for an evening out, a quick look at the Paragon site before you leave will show which screens are open that week. Once Mercato reopens, Pelican Bay's movie options will be two Paragon locations instead of two competing chains.
Commercial space at the edge of Pelican Bay changes hands more often than most people expect, and each change affects how the neighborhood feels day to day. If you're thinking about what those changes mean for your own Pelican Bay home, Maureen Sexson is glad to talk it through over a personal home valuation or a quiet conversation about your plans for the season ahead.
