AUSTINTOWN — Golden Star Theaters, the New Castle, Pa.-based movie theater chain, will reopen its new, fully renovated multiplex this week, joining others that are welcoming back moviegoers since being shut down in mid-March.

The 10-screen theater on Mahoning Avenue, the former Regal Austintown Plaza cinema, has undergone about $2.5 million in renovations, said Frank Moses, president of Golden Star, which took over the facility Jan. 1.

Its first movie Friday is “Unhinged” starring Russell Crowe as a road raging driver.

After taking over the theater, Moses had planned to take 90 days to remodel the 20-year-old building into a luxury theater, but COVID-19 derailed those plans.

Despite the delay, Golden Star spared no expense on the transformation, which came to include health and safety measures needed because of the viral outbreak.

“There is a certain investment you have to put into it no matter what when you come into a market … you want to have the top sound, you want to have the best quality and that’s our big thing, we want to make sure our quality is the best,” said Moses.

The upgrades include new, fully reclining seats; Dolby 7.1 eight-channel sound systems in each auditorium; new screens, enlarged as much as possible based on auditorium capacity; and new floor, wall and ceiling finishes.

Changing to the luxury seats, which are 7 feet apart front to back, about halved the capacity of the theaters. Seating now is about 700 compared to 1,500 to 1,600 previously. The auditoriums seat between 40 and 104.

But the risk is minimal. Moses said what he’s found is with luxury seats, people are more apt to come to the theater throughout the day, not at traditionally peak times, which is how theaters were built — to accommodate large crowds at specific show times.

“It’s definitely a draw, definitely an amenity people want to use,” Moses said.

The exterior of the 35,000-square-foot building was painted and the parking lot was sealed and restriped. Also, some of the air handling units were upgraded.

In addition, the theater will have alcohol once the state gives its OK. Austintown trustees already have approved an economic development transfer permit, which allows a liquor license from one community to be transferred to another. Moses said he fully expects the license will be granted, but doing so will be delayed due to the viral outbreak.

It would be the second Golden Star theater to serve alcohol. The first is in Pittsburgh.

The theater also will have a new concession area and new menu with pizza, chicken tenders and french fries, plus a party area for kids. The party area, Moses said, will open when the virus subsides.

Joe Rethage, operational manager for Golden Star, said the theater also will have tickets available through the website and an app with assigned seating, something the company already has in Pittsburgh and New Castle.

Health and safety measures include hand sanitizing stations through the complex, plastic shields at the ticket window and concession registers, greater air cycling frequency and all self-serve-type stations were removed. Also, before any guest sits down, an employee will wipe down the seat for cleanliness, and certain seats will be unavailable to maintain social distancing.

“We have to give people the right comfort … our industry as a whole has taken a lot of precautions in order to try and give the highest comfort levels,” Moses said.

Meanwhile, other theater chains opened last week in states where COVID-19 restrictions have been loosened, including Cinemark’s Tinseltown in Boardman and Regal Cinemas’ Boulevard Centre in Niles.

Also opening Friday was Regal’s Cinema South multiplex in Boardman.

Moses said he thinks people will return to the cinema.

“Do we see a window at the end? Yeah, I just don’t know how far that window is from us … I think people want to come back. I think people love the experience. There is nothing like the experience of the big screen.”