ACE Theatrical Group leased the theater from the New York City Economic Development Corporation in 2013 and, after a $95 million renovation, reopened it on January 23, 2015.

[9][10] The site occupies the center of a city block bounded to the south by Duryea Place and to the north by Tilden Avenue.

The center bay of the facade includes a bas-relief with decorations such as acanthus leaves, birds, foliage, a mask, shields, and trefoils.

On either side of the arch, within the outer bays, are terracotta pilasters with more bas-reliefs of motifs such as acanthus leaves, fleurs-de-lis, figures, scrolls, and urns.

[61][62] Prior to the development of the current theater, the site at 1027 Flatbush Avenue had been occupied by a Brooklyn City Railroad railyard.

[83][84] In addition to films and stage shows, the Kings Theater hosted events such as beauty pageants,[47][5] merchandise displays,[85] fundraisers,[86] and awards ceremonies.

[88] The Kings employed 18 ushers, as well as numerous doormen, captains, cashiers, projectionists, janitors, cleaners, engineers, and electricians.

[37] During the 1930s, the Kings Theatre's performers included Gracie Allen, Milton Berle, George Burns, Cab Calloway, Jimmy Durante, and Bob Hope.

[91] Other celebrities performed at the theater throughout the years, including Chuck Berry, Marlon Brando, Eddie Cantor, Florence Henderson, the Nicholas Brothers, Little Richard, and Bojangles Robinson.

[93][94] In its last two decades as a cinema, the Kings hosted celebrities such as Muhammad Ali, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, and Olivia de Havilland.

[3] Following the U.S. Supreme Court's 1948 ruling in United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc., Loew's Theaters was forced to split up its film-production and film-exhibition divisions.

[116] In addition, urban residents had begun to move to the suburbs, and neighborhood movie houses had to compete with shopping-mall multiplexes and household televisions.

[3] The Loew's Kings began hosting events such as a televised boxing match in 1964,[117] and it started screening multiple first-run films the same year as part of the Showcase program.

[118] Over the years, the original color palette of the auditorium was obscured due to successive repaintings, in addition to accumulations of soot from cigarette smoke.

[3][38] By 1976, community organizer Marty Markowitz of the Flatbush Tenants Council had proposed converting the Kings Theatre to accommodate large stage shows.

[8] In June 1978, Brooklyn borough president Howard Golden allocated $1.2 million in community development funds for the acquisition of the Kings Theatre.

[146] As part of the citywide Adopt-a-Landmark program, students from South Shore High School "adopted" the theater in late 1985,[145][147] visiting the venue and documenting its history and architecture.

[123][7][148] A request for proposals was supposed to have been launched in July 1986, but it was delayed when city officials expressed concerns that there was insufficient demand for performing-arts programs at the theater.

[135] In late 1986, a consortium including the FDC, the J. M. Kaplan Fund, and Save the Theatres Inc. announced plans to redevelop the theater into a performing-arts venue.

[150] In addition, the Prospect Park Environmental Center and Municipal Art Society sponsored walking tours of the abandoned Kings Theatre.

[154] The New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) finally issued a request for expressions of interest (RFEI) for the theater in 1990.

[92][94] James formed a group known as the Flatbush Universal Corporation to raise money for the theater;[92] among the fundraisers it hosted was a 1992 concert in Atlantic City, New Jersey, with Queen Latifah and Fela Kuti.

[94][158] James said at the time that the building would include a hotel, health spa, restaurant, catering hall, and wax museum dedicated to the black community, along with a restored 3,200-seat auditorium.

[174] Marty Markowitz, who was by then the borough president, endorsed the project,[3][173] saying a live-event venue in the old theater would boost Flatbush's economy.

[5] The renovation coincided with the development of several stores, a gym, and a hotel in the surrounding area,[2][200][178] Several restaurants opened on Beverley Road, where the closest New York City Subway stations to the theater were located.

[5] After the theater reopened, it hosted performances from musical acts including Jackson Browne, Josh Groban, Diana Ross, and Yo La Tengo,[201] in addition to events like the National Beard & Moustache Championships.

[3][178][201] After Tyler Bates took over as the Kings Theatre's general manager in 2017, he added 50% more event bookings to the theater in an attempt to attract more visitors from the local community.

[206] When the theater opened, the Brooklyn Eagle wrote that "luxury seems to have been the watchword of the designers, and this is emphasized from the front door to the very last seat in the balcony".

[183] A reporter for The New York Times wrote in 1976 that the Kings Theatre was "considered by many to be a classic among movie palaces bristling with ornamentation".

[208] After the theater closed, one writer the New York Daily News described it as "mayhap Early Texaco in decor but a seeming Sistine Chapel of class to unemployed showbiz buffs",[209] while another reporter for the same paper described it as the Versailles of movie palaces.