In an era when every megaplex looks the same, the Twin Cities still has an unusual concentration of independent movie theaters with real character: a converted vaudeville house, a non-profit repertory cinema, a single-screen palace from 1948, and a Columbia Heights theater with a working pipe organ. Worth supporting and worth seeing a movie at.
A 50-seat non-profit repertory cinema in the Longfellow neighborhood. The programming runs from silent film with live accompaniment to obscure 80s genre to careful retrospectives nobody else would touch. Membership-supported, beloved, and the most film-literate audience in the metro.
A 1926 movie palace just north of Northeast Minneapolis, beautifully restored, with a working Wurlitzer pipe organ played live before select films. Now affiliated with Trylon. The programming reaches across classics, indie new releases, and special-event screenings.
A single-screen 1948 theater in South Minneapolis showing second-run movies for under five dollars. The lobby is a perfectly preserved mid-century time capsule, the popcorn is the right kind of buttery, and the balcony seats are first-come-first-served.
A South Minneapolis single-screen theater connected to Pepito’s Mexican Restaurant. The programming mixes repertory cinema, live comedy, and concerts. The room itself is small enough to feel like a private screening with friends.
A four-screen Mann Theatres location in 50th and France, formerly the Edina Theatre. Indie new releases, curated programming, and a comfortable lobby that has resisted feeling like a corporate megaplex. The right west-metro arthouse.
A 1927 movie palace in North Minneapolis, restored and run as a community-anchored arts and film venue. The programming is a mix of film, live music, and youth arts events. A North Side institution worth supporting.
The Walker’s film program is one of the most ambitious of any American museum, with rare prints, director retrospectives, and the annual Cinema of Urgency series. The McGuire Theater itself is a beautifully designed room.