Landmark Kendall Square cinema will start a major renovation in March that may dilute its status as a go-to theater for first-run art house films.
Landmark head of brand and marketing Mark Mulcahy confirmed in an email the facility will get a full refresh to its nine-screen venue starting next month, including upgrading its audio-visual system, creating a large-format auditorium by combining two current theaters into one, expanding the lobby to include a new bar, a video arcade where the current box office sits, and opening a new lounge area offering more food and drink options.
Other notable changes will include new luxury recliners that will replace the current seating, maximized screens in each auditorium, and a new upstairs events and meeting facility. The renovations will also install a seamless egress to the parking garage (moviegoers now have to exit the theatre completely and walk around the corner to enter the adjacent parking garage).
Since it opened in 1995 it has been one of the few venues in the Boston area to show first-run international and independent films.
These changes would seem to reflect broader trends in what audiences expect on screen and in their moviegoing experiences. Because of competition from streaming services and post-COVID-19 behavior patterns a night at the movies in many places means higher-end seating, upgraded dining options, adult beverages and sensory-enhanced big-screen presentations. Since it opened in 1995 it has been one of the few venues in the Boston area to show first-run international and independent films. But in recent years it has seemed to shift toward bigger box office draws as mainstream films such as Zootopia 2,” “Send Help” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash” now dot a slate that had formerly been independent and international films.
When the theater opened, it proudly exhibited the piquant madness of Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier (“Breaking the Waves,” “Dogville”) and Peter Greenaway (“The Pillow Book”) in the smaller auditoriums while the big screens projected the latest from the likes of Merchant Ivory Productions (“Remains of the Day,” “Surviving Picasso”) or then-upstarts such as Wes Anderson (“The Royal Tenenbaums” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel”) and Paul Thomas Anderson (“Magnolia” and “The Master”).
And while the Landmark chain, founded in 1974 by Parallax Theatre Systems to promote independent cinema, has held fast over those years to that original mission, it has seen several ownership changes over the decades. Samuel Goldwyn Entertainment (now part of MGM) owned the chain when the Kendall Square theater opened and then sold it Silver Cinemas, which went bankrupt. The chain was purchased by 2929 Entertainment, co-owned by billionaire Mark Cuban in 2003. Since 2018, it’s been owned by the Cohen Media Group, which faced the possibility of bankruptcy after defaulting on a large loan to stay afloat during the pandemic. Landmark closed more than half of its locations in the wake of the pandemic and currently operates 26 theaters, several of which have been renovated.
Because demolition is involved in the upstairs area the theater will operate at a reduced capacity during construction, with completion estimated for early fall, according to Mulcahy.
Screen consolidation to remain relevant and financially viable is nothing new. During the pandemic the Somerville Theatre went from five screens to three, returning to the building’s original ballroom purpose the space that two upstairs movie houses occupied.
With such changes, Camberville has lost some of its art house luster. Critically hailed independent and international films such as “Sorry, Baby” and “Blue Moon” never had a first-run release here, showing instead in theaters in Boston, the Capitol Theatre in Arlington and the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, which also recently renovated and expanded its theatrical capacity.
This story was updated to note that “Blue Moon” also was shown at the Capitol Theatre in Arlington.
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There have been numerous reports of rodent infestation within the theaters, guessing this will be addressed?