Exclusive | Planet Hollywood reopens in Manhattan but without its iconic movie memorabilia
New Yorkers can go “Back to the Future” with this restaurant’s comeback.The movie-themed restaurant chain Planet Hollywood, which shuttered its Times Square location during COVID, reopened at 136 West 42nd Street in Midtown this weekend after a $17 million investment.But customers used to movie memorabilia adorning the wall no longer find film relics there.They’ll instead be wowed by high-definition screens transporting them to other worlds — with content centered around movies and music videos, sometimes starring the diners themselves.“Almost every wall space, and on one of the two floors, the ceiling as well, are all just screens,” Planet Hollywood’s CEO and founder, Robert Earl, exclusively told The Post.“We put you on the screens as well,” he continued.
“You can suddenly be inside a beautiful forest or an old cowboy town and Lil Nas is playing.And then it goes over to Jelly Roll and then Taylor Swift.”Earl, 73, explained that “in the past we focused on the theatergoers coming from across the water and visitors to the city, and we weren’t targeting Manhattanites.”The initial idea for Planet Hollywood, which includes four restaurants and five resorts, came in the late 1980s when Earl, who then owned the Hard Rock Cafe, was approached by Hollywood film producers.Its flagship location opened in 1991 on West 57th Street, with the star-studded backing of Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis and Demi Moore.The restaurant’s famed memorabilia collection included the “Italian Stallion” robe worn by Stallone in “Rocky III” and the Terminator figure from “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.”In 2000, it relocated to Times Square, at 1540 Broadway, but COVID shut its doors.
Earl said he always knew it would make a comeback in the Big Apple — and even met with Mayor Eric Adams to discuss the post-pandemic state of the city.“For me, New York is still the place, and I met with Mayor Eric very early in his tenure and h...