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Philly’s movie scene is extensive – but for many theaters, it has been a rough year. Landmark’s Ritz Five in Old City just closed for the time being due to failed inspections and fire code violations.
And in late May, the company that looked to revamp South Philly’s Riverview Plaza movie theater with an IMAX screen scrapped its plans to do so.
With fewer physical spaces to see movies, community is more important than ever, said Christina Acevedo, founder of the Philly-based film club Girls Like Horror.
“Think about it – if you go into a movie theater, it’s quiet and you’re not talking to anyone,” she said. “How are we making this fun or keeping cinema alive? And I’ve found that we have created these ways to do that, and to keep the lights on in these theaters, to keep people going to the movies, and to make it fun.”
“Keeping Cinema Alive”
Acevedo said enjoying horror films is just one part of her club. It’s community events – like horror movie bingo, mixers and anniversaries – that keep the club flowing.
“I’ve seen people who didn’t know each other before who’ve met at Girls Like Horror events,” she said. Now, “they’re coming to the movies together.”
This is especially important in an age of streaming, which can cause declining numbers of moviegoers.
“People like to stay in,” she said. “You can stream tons of stuff, so why go to the movies? So it’s just nice to be brought back to a place where you can physically go and meet people and share stories and share passions of film and art. It’s something we don’t want to lose.”
Acevedo’s club is one of many in the Philly area.
“I was so surprised at how vibrant and alive the film community is,” she said. “It has really grown since I’ve been here. I’ve seen so many clubs pop up, and I love what the theaters are doing, especially organizations like Lightbox Film Center, which we worked with, as well as Philadelphia Film Society. They’re pillars of the film community in Philadelphia, but what is really unique and special to our city is the number of film clubs that we have.”
Stephanye Watts, founder of the Be Reel Black Cinema Club, agrees. Her club focuses on amplifying Black filmmakers.
“If anybody is feeling like there is an absence of Black films being shown in the city, you’re sadly mistaken because there’s always somewhere to go,” she said.
Beyond community, Watts said Philly’s film scene and film clubs also help elevate the voices of local filmmakers.
“The cinemas can really only market via their social media, and if you’re not already following them, they probably won’t come up on your algorithm,” she said. “Film clubs that are popping up in the city are really important because they’re able to do all that on the groundwork to spread the word to audiences that otherwise may not even know that these things are happening.”
Gen Z viewers on the rise
According to a study by Pew Research Center from summer of 2025, more than half of Americans said they had not seen a movie in theaters over the past year.
The pandemic made theater attendance less popular, and those numbers may not have fully recovered.
But, the study also showed an interesting trend – adults under 50 are more likely to go to theaters, with 67% of adults ages 18-29 saying they’ve been to the movies recently.
Acevedo said she is encouraged by many of Philly’s existing film spaces.
“There all these theaters around that are gorgeous theaters, and also their programming is exceptional, and it’s really fun because you can take fun field trips out to these spaces that are outside of the city,” she said.
Watts said part of running a film club is increasing awareness about these spaces.
“It’s crazy how many times people have said to me, ‘oh, I didn’t even know that we had an independent movie theater in Philadelphia,’” she said. “So the club serves as kind of a bridge builder between the cinema and the people.”
Watts also noted that many of the increases are concentrated in white populations. She said part of Be Reel Cinema Club’s work is helping bring Black audiences into these spaces.
“The numbers (I’m seeing) are crazy, like Gen Z loves going to the movies,” she said. “But I’m not seeing those numbers necessarily translated in Black audiences. So, we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”
Moving forward
Acevedo said she is hopeful for the future of cinema in the city.
“It’s just nice to be brought back to a place where you can physically go and meet people and share stories and share passions of film and art,” she said. “We don’t want to lose that, and so having this club mentality is helping keep something that we treasure still thriving.”
Watts said it is important to continue to support both the organizations and theaters that currently exist.
“I don’t think we need more (spaces) because people aren’t coming out now to what we have,” she said. “So I feel like until people are selling out these seats at theaters consistently, that we should stick to what we have now. And I think people need to really support these organizations like a PFS, like a Ritz, like a Bryn Mawr Film Institute, because they’re doing really great work.”
Watts said she hopes her work and the work of other clubs in the area will continue to encourage engagement with movies and films.
She said beyond the social aspect, it’s also important for Philadelphians to continue to create and support spaces for independent and minority filmmakers.
“For me, I look at my film club as a philanthropic organization, because we’re putting our dollars to show support for independent filmmakers,” she said. “Through the club, I also promote people’s GoFundMe’s and their film projects. The club for us isn’t so much social; it’s a service to filmmakers to support and come out to their films.”
Below, we put together a list of the current theatres in and around Philly.
In Philly:
AMC DINE-IN Fashion District 8
- Address: 1001 Market Street, Ste 3050
- Neighborhood: Center City
Cinemark University City Penn 6
- Address: 4012 Walnut Street
- Neighborhood: University City
Philadelphia Film Society Center
- Address: 1412 Chestnut Street
- Neighborhood: Center City
AMC Broadstreet 7
- Address: 1600 N Broad Street
- Neighborhood: North Philly
Film Society Bourse
- Address: 400 Ranstead Street
- Neighborhood: Old City
Regal UA Main Street
- Address: 3720 Main Street
- Neighborhood: Manayunk
Film Society East
- Address: 125 S 2nd Street
- Neighborhood: Old City
Lightbox Film Center
- Address: 1901 S 9th Street
- Neighborhood: South Philly
Regal UA Grant Plaza
- Address: 1619 Grant Ave
- Neighborhood: Northeast Philly
Around Philly:
AMC Woodhaven 10
- Address: 1336 Bristol Pike
- Town: Bensalem, PA
Penn Cinema Huntingdon Valley
- Address: 2068 County Line Road
- Town: Huntingdon Valley, PA
Bryn Mawr Film Institute
- Address: 824 Lancaster Ave
- Town: Bryn Mawr, PA
Movie Tavern Flourtown
- Address: 1844 Bethlehem Pike
- Town: Flourtown, PA
Reel Cinemas Narberth Stadium 2
- Address: 129 N Narberth Ave
- Town: Narberth, PA
AMC Plymouth Meeting Mall 12
- Address: 494 W Germantown Pike
- Town: Plymouth Meeting, PA
Regal Plymouth Meeting Imax
- Address: 1011 Ridge Pike
- Town: Conshohocken, PA
Regal UA King of Prussia
- Address: 300 Goddard Blvd
- Town: King of Prussia, PA
Movie Tavern Collegeville
- Address: 140 Market Street
- Town: Collegeville, PA
Regal Moorestown Mall
- Address: 400 NJ-38
- Town: Moorestown, NJ
AMC Voorhees 16
- Address: 900 Haddonfield-Berlin Rd
- Town: Voorhees Township, NJ
Cinemark Somerdale 16 and XD
- Address: Cooper Town Center, 711 Evesham Rd
- Town: Somerdale, NJ
AMC Deptford 8
- Address: 1740 Clements Bridge Rd
- Town: Deptford, NJ
