Everyone says theater attendance is dying, but is anyone doing anything about it?
It’s no mystery that post-COVID theatrical attendance has dropped. The domestic box office is down 20% when compared to pre-pandemic.
What hasn’t been measured and studied is the effect this has on indie film theaters.
But we can infer that the downstream effects are not good. Especially in New York City, where longtime indie cinemas like Metrograph took a stab at distribution, only to back off 17 months later after poor box-office results.
Enter the new organization: Art House New York
This is an organization that has brought together a group of filmmakers, indie cinema owners, policymakers, and film distributors who have banded together to drive attendance back to theaters.
We were invited to the launch event, where the director of Art House New York, Allason Leitz (former: Program Manager NYFF), spoke about the importance of the theatrical experience:
“Art house cinemas have always been a place that is more than where we watch films. They’re where we gather, they’re where we reflect, and we learn together. They are our sector’s third spaces. It’s not home, it’s not work, but they’re the living rooms of our civic imagination. It’s in these rooms that we grow through stories we encounter side by side in the dark, and only with our laughs, occasional gasps, and sobs as auditory proof of our togetherness. But we all know it feels different when you go into the cinema. When we enter these rooms, our curiosity is piqued. Who are these people? Why do they think this film is interesting? In an era where loneliness is skyrocketing and people are craving connection and in-person experience, let’s make sure that our creative spaces are where people look for creative inspiration.”
The team behind Art House New York is well-equipped to deliver on this promise. To keep sacred cinema spaces intact.
The advisory board includes:
Magnolia Pictures, Co-CEO Dori Begley
Film at Lincoln Center, Deputy Director, Matt Bolish
MUBI, Head of Distribution, Mark Boxer
MoMA, Chief Curator of Film, Rajendra Roy
Falco Ink., Partner, Shannon Treusch
Netflix, Programming, Paris Theater, John Vanco
Netflix tends to eschew theatrical or have a very short theatrical run for its original films. The fact that someone from Netflix has agreed to serve on a board helping theaters thrive in NYC is outright incredible.
It’s also great to see two heavy-hitting distribution companies like Mubi and Magnolia join the advisory board. Mubi has been investing heavily to build out its theatrical slate, buying up a slew of films at Cannes over the last few years. And Magnolia is one of the premier indie film production and distribution companies in NYC.
We chatted with Dori Begley, co-CEO of Magnolia, who shared:
“[Art House New York’s founders] Lesli and Allason’s rigorous, regional focus on specialized audience cultivation should be music to every distributor’s ears, and will ultimately serve as a blueprint for markets nationwide.”
She continued:
“We’ve all been navigating a period with undeniable challenges, but also numerous bright spots that prove the collective, theatrical experience is still a valuable draw -- especially for the next generation of cinephiles.”
And there is indeed hope.
The City of New York Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment is partially funding Art House New York’s effort with a grant.
That’s because New York City has gone through its own contraction with a large drop in the number of film shoots in city spaces. We took a look at the data they shared with us and found that in the year before COVID, the NYC Mayor’s office issued 10,235 permits. This year, that’s dropped to 5738 permits. That’s a 44% drop.
We spoke with the founder of Art House New York, Lesli Klainberg (former President of Film at Lincoln Center), who already had some ideas for increasing attendance at indie theaters, stating:
“Imagine a collective marketing effort to get people to come to the movies during one week. Just like a collective restaurant week is a collective effort to get people to restaurants. So we want to get all of our movie theaters together and collectively create a campaign to drive people to those theaters during that week.
That and more is slated for Spring 2026.
Preserving indie cinemas in NYC is fundamental to supporting emerging filmmakers.
Art House New York director Allason Leitz said it best:
“Theatrical isn’t dead, it just needs a bit of the spotlight we give our films to remind our audiences what they love about being here and the shared energy, the curatorial vision, and the magic that can’t be streamed or scrolled through.”
The first time I went to a 70mm screening was in NYC for The Master in 2012.
There was a hypnotic vividness to the imagery. The blues of the ocean that frame Joaquin Phoenix as he languishes atop a Navy Carrier were so real you could taste the salt. And when Philip Seymour Hoffman forces Phoenix to answer a series of questions without blinking, I was sucked into the rich shadows and sat in rapture.
We need to preserve theatrical experiences like this one. The kind only a theater can deliver.
Here’s a list of the entire advisory board:
Kazembe Balagun – Executive Director, Maysles Documentary Center
Dori Begley – Co-CEO, Magnolia Pictures
Matt Bolish – Deputy Director, Film at Lincoln Center
Mark Boxer – Head of Distribution, MUBI
Karen Cardarelli – Executive Director, Facets & Chicago Alliance of Film Festivals
Gary Faber – President, ERM Research
Pat Swinney Kaufman– Commissioner, MOME
Lesli Klainberg – AHNY Founder, former President, Film at Lincoln Center
Lela Meadow-Conner – Board President, Art House Convergence
Dara Messinger – Director of Programming, DCTV’s Firehouse Cinema
Rajendra Roy – Chief Curator of Film, MoMA
Shannon Treusch – Partner, Falco Ink.
Jesse Trussell – Director, Film Program and Strategy, BAM
Barbara Twist – Executive Director, Film Festival Alliance
John Vanco – Programming, Paris Theater / Netflix.
Art House New York is actively seeking funders, sponsors, and partners. More info can be found here.