Chicago North Side movie theater offering yearly memberships for filmgoers

CBS News

14-03-2025

Movie theaters are popular places to go on a weekend, but at smaller theaters in Chicago, many seats remain open.
One historic theater, however, is using a creative way to bring people back to the cinema.
The popcorn is popping, the customers are finding their seats, and the movie is about to start. That describes a busy Saturday at the Davis Movie Theater at 4614 N. Lincoln Avenue in Lincoln Square, but it was still not as busy as before the COVID-19 outbreak.
"We are still not up to the same attendance percentages," owner Mary Fencl said.
Fencl is the majority owner of the theater. Like many other independent movie houses, the Davis is having a tougher time recovering from the pandemic.
"We're a smaller theater, and we only have three screens," she said.
Fencl says films are often in theaters in less time, which means there are fewer chances to earn money on a popular movie.
"It used to be a 90-day window, and that's gone down sometimes it's less than 30 days, so people might wait for streaming," she said.
So Fencl and co-owner Brittany Ryll got creative to bring people back to their theater.
"We launched our annual member program in January of this year. Currently, we're inching toward a thousand members," Ryll said.
Attendees can now buy a movie ticket and a membership with some perks.
"You get discounts on movie tickets, you get access to early showings of some new films, discounts in concessions," Ryll said.
In return, the theater gets valuable information about its customers. Other theaters are using this strategy as well, but for independents like the Davis, it's a way to face their own unique challenges.
"Cinema has always been a community space, but how do we bring that back post-COVID," Ryll said.
Memberships cost $50 per year for one person and $90 for two. The Davis Theater dates back to 1918 when it was known as the Pershing Theater.