DETROIT – Cinema Detroit was a seven-day-a-week theater with two screens showing several films daily. But moviegoers will have to look elsewhere for those niche films by the end of the month.
“It’s probably an end of an era, the fact that you lose the more independent, more smalltime [theater], and you’re now catering to the Marvels,” a local moviegoer said. “You lose out on the more poignant and specialty films.”
After a decade of spotlighting independent films, Cinema Detroit in Midtown is closing. Locals are disappointed that the theater and its nostalgic feel are disappearing.
“I think you’re losing a lot of diversity too,” another local moviegoer said. “We’re seeing the same things over and over again. So, you’re missing out on things you may not have known you liked.”
Anywhere you go, smaller independent theaters are falling by the wayside. Last year, the iconic Main Art Theater in Royal Oak was demolished, and The Film Lab in Hamtramck closed during the pandemic.
“I’m from Fort Wayne, Indiana, and we’re losing our philharmonic,” a woman told us. “I know that people have been really up in arms about that; it’s been really disappointing for the community because it’s something we take pride in.”
COVID, inflation, rising rents, and dwindling audiences have contributed to the demise of smaller theaters -- which also makes it harder for new talent to break into the industry.
While Cinema Detroit looks for a new location, you can check out the Detroit Film Theater at the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Senate Theater on Michigan Avenue in Detroit, and the Maple Theater in Bloomfield Township.
Cinema Detroit is also hosting movie pop-up events in their Summer Series, which you can find info about on their Facebook page here.