The Main Cinema

Polly Wiebke 2 months ago

Enjoyed my first visit to this theatre for showing of Threshold, an incredible documentary featuring Jessie Diggins and created by two young men who happen to be brothers (and sons of a friend of mine). The Mnpls Film festival appears to be a very well attended and respected event. I will be sure to attend more often! Theatre 1 was comfortable (altho a bit warm for me), no bad seats, friendly ushers and staff, clean restrooms. Parking seemed appropriate for downtown but the meter/pay machine wasn’t working. Luckily my car was still there upon leaving.

John Schwarzkopf 4 months ago

They REALLY need to address the dilapidated state of seating. The red material that the chairs are upholstered with (which I'm sure is a long holdover from the Stone Arch Cinema days) is well past its usable life. Every chair is very visibly worn and peeling, and in some cases just straight up broken. I went to a showing on Thursday 2/12/26 and the seat of the chair I first sat down in had zero structural integrity whatsoever. It's a good thing there were other open seats, otherwise I would've been out of luck. The backrest of the chair I moved to was broken and reclined so far back it felt like I was in the lap of the person behind me. That was the second time I've left that theater with a sore back. The programming is unique and in my opinion better than it's ever been, concessions are great, and it's awesome to be able to have a beer at the movies. That counts for nothing if you have to sit in a busted chair for 2+ hours. Especially when you're paying almost $40 just to get in the door, between parking and tickets for two. 2/5, not an enjoyable experience whatsoever. I definitely won't be back until those awful chairs are replaced.

Kirei Zeas-Drake a month ago

Wow!!!!! Excluding the movie, I really liked it. The atmosphere was great and the concessions weren't too expensive. They show a mix of indie and mainstream releases. 10/10!!!!

Ryan Fauver 6 months ago

Saw Sentimental Value here back in November, never been here before. The theater is very unique with flat seating, but a neat walk down entrance. Has a rustic/classic old theater smell which elevates the experience. Tickets are reasonably priced and the screen/audio quality impressed me given the size. Biggest downside is the parking, all paid street parking, would be nice if it had its own lot but that's the cities for you. I recommend it overall.

Kitri Lindberg a month ago

I have to say first off that the cinema itself is so charming and I love supporting local business. The staff were friendly and the atmosphere was great! They have pretty decent pricing too! However, my experience otherwise was rather poor. Firstly, the line to get into the theater wrapped around the building and was poorly managed. I waited ten minutes to get inside! Second, the limited bathrooms were a challenge (only two, and one of them was out of order!) and had a long, long line that was ten minutes wait. The bathrooms were separated by gender even though they were single stall, and the men's line never had any line. Why not make the restrooms all-gender if that is the case? it doesn't make sense. Third, and most frustrating: the movie I saw was clearly over-booked. We ended up having to use folding chairs in the back because the theatre was fully sold out beyond the capacity. I'm not sure if people were sneaking into the showing, or if they had paid for another ticket or what but there was no ticket checking/taking, and the seats were general admission. Once sat, the theatre was poorly climate controlled and reeked of sweat the entire duration of the movie. On top of all of this, parking was absolutely abysmal. I arrived thirty minutes early and circled the area for that duration looking for a spot and ended up having to pay $15 to park in a ramp several blocks away. Although I understand that's not necessarily the businesses fault, as the area is just hard to park near in general, the poor parking availability along with all the other poor aspects made the experience that much worse. I did really enjoy the film I saw, which made the experience better overall. I do hope to return to Main Cinema someday if they try to address these concerns and make for a better viewing experience.