WORCESTER, Mass. - Dozens of movies have been filmed in Worcester in recent years, but if you want to go to the theater to watch movies, you'll have to travel outside of city limits.  

Currently, Worcester, the second largest city in New England, doesn't have any theaters. 

And with the recent buzz about new movies like "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" premiering this weekend, residents will have to travel to nearby towns like Millbury or West Boylston to get to the closest theater. 

Showcase Cinemas showed its last movie in Worcester in 2020, and was permanently closed in 2021.

It has since been torn down. 

The organization Cinema-Worcester hopes to open a new theater in the city soon to feature independent films. 

“Worcester with all of the cultural stuff going on, especially, I think it would be important to add that,” said Cinema-Worcester founder Andy Grigorov. “It would be a really important piece of the cultural mix here in the city to have an independent cinema that's locally run and locally owned and caters to the people in the city."

Cinema-Worcester started about five years ago as a pop-up cinema, and typically showcases movies at the Park View Room in Worcester across from Elm Park.