New Movie Theater with Unusual Business Plan: It's Free

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At a time when there's more competition than ever for entertainment dollars -- from Netflix streaming to iTunes downloads -- one Easthampton couple has decided to beat the competition by opening a....   free movie theater. Karen Brown reports.

"Ok, well, this is the second of our four superhero movies today....”

Tom Doherty introduces a thriller from director M. Night Shyamalan  to several couples lounging on black padded armchairs.

Doherty and his wife Kristen Davis opened this downtown Easthampton movie theater "Popcorn Noir"  in September.... with an unusual business model. You pay nothing to see the movie -- you pay only for food and drink. Menu choices range from beer and wine to fancy finger food -- all delivered tableside. Even the National Association of Theater Owners hasn't heard of another model quite like it.

"One of the reasons we went with a free movie theater is that it allows us to provide something for the community," says Davis. "It doesn't matter how much money you have in your pocket, you can always come in and sit down and watch a great film. If we sold tickets, it keeps a lot of people out that couldn't normally afford to come -- three days a week."

Davis, 29, and Doherty, 38, moved recently from New York to Easthampton and had been mulling over how they could join this former milltown's fledgling arts scene, when Davis noticed a former church space for rent on cottage street. It already had a stage and projection booth. They paid for renovations with a credit card, and now, the 20-seat room looks more like a cocktail lounge than a cinema.

“It caught our attention bc it was a unique idea,” says Johanna Andreoli , who was at Popcorn Noir for the first time. “You just get a different vibe than standing in line at a rave cinema or something. It's cozy in here.”

They play up to 4 movies a day, five days a week, and instead of buying tickets, people become members -- from a free day membership to 10-dollar annual one, or a 25 dollar VIP membership.

"As VIP members, you have the option to make reservations," Davis tells a couple new members. ". ... So we have some great classic comedies coming up. Next week is Western Wednesdays."

None of the movies are first-run -- they tend to be independent or classic films, projected from DVDs or downloads. Most come from the couple's personal collection, the public library, or filmlovers in the community.

"We want to somehow walk the line between avant garde and mainstream," says Doherty. " I'd like to bring people who are mainstream a little further along, open their minds...show them something they haven't seen before. Since the movie is free, they may trust us.”

Free or not, they do have to pay a licensing fee to show the movies publicly, but they say it's much cheaper than if they sold tickets. Still, their discount comes with an odd stipulation. They're not allowed to advertise the movie titles on their weekly schedule -- except to paying members. So they have to give hints on their Facebook page or flyers -- by summarizing a movie's plot or using still photos.

"We kind of like that we don't know what the movies are and that we had to google them and see what's playing," says Megan Tady. She  and Alex Bartlett are new to Easthampton -- and to Popcorn Noir.

“We barely go to movies anymore. We mostly do netflix streaming, which is really annoying because there's never any good movies on." Alex: "plus we hate watching the computer. We're psyched to see a screen."

So far, Popcorn Noir has 200 members, but Tom Doherty -- who has a second job as a college fundraiser -- says people are still confused by the free movie model.

“A lot of people come in and say, 'how are you going to survive?' But if we can get a good crowd for every show, and people buy something, just a simple meal, a drink, every once in a while, we'll do fine.”

Doherty and Davis have started to host locally made films, and they'd like to show super 8 and 16 millimeter film, but -- with computer downloads becoming the norm -- it's hard to find people to run the projectors. ###