BILLINGS — As Billings' movie theater scene continues to shrink, local favorites like the Art House Cinema and Pub and Babcock Theatre are gaining traction, while national chains like AMC Shiloh 14 struggle with rising complaints.
On the day after Christmas, crowds were steady at AMC Shiloh 14, a tradition for many to go out around the holidays to catch a film.
“We go out two or three times a year," said moviegoers J'kee Johnson and Andrew Jefferson. “It's good to get out here while we can because so many places are closing up now.”
That was true recently for the AMC theater. Earlier this month, the venue shut down for several days due to what was described as a network outage. While the theater has since reopened, customers argue that the closure was just the tip of the iceberg. Issues ranging from staffing shortages to cleanliness have tainted the overall theater experience for many, who have taken their complaints to social media.
“I understand where the complaints are coming from and I understand why they haven't been dealt with exactly at the theater, but I find it completely necessary to call out these sort of complaints," said moviegoer Gabe Benson. “Sometimes everything's perfectly good, but sometimes, it's going to be a mess.”
Some customers say the increasing costs of tickets and snacks from the national chain are now higher than ever and have led them to question whether the experience is worth the cost.
“I don't think I want to go to the big one anymore. It's more expensive. The food's more expensive. The tickets are more expensive," said moviegoer Tia Benson on Wednesday.
Watching a movie on Christmas Day has been a tradition for the Benson family, but this year, they opted for a different experience at the Billings Art House Cinema and Pub instead of their usual AMC location.
“We really like the Art House. It's more relaxed. You can have an adult beverage," said Randy Benson.
“It's more personal. It feels small-town-ish. It's like we're back in the small towns and stuff like that. New, clean, small, it has a nice feel to it," added Tia. “If I'm going to go and see a film, I want to be comfortable. I want to enjoy myself, and yeah, an adult beverage is not a bad idea once in a while. We come and have supper and take it into the movie with us. It gives you a different experience.”
The Bensons are not the only ones to have made a switch recently to locally-owned options. According to Art House creative director, Brian Oestreich, their memberships and attendance have only grown since their expansion in 2023.
"We get a lot more people every day that are coming in to discover the restaurant up front, which then leads them to discover more of the films happening in the back," said Oestreich.
Both of Billings' independent theaters seem to avoid the same issues chain theaters could have.
“We get people all the time that plea with us, like, 'Please bring in this movie because I don't want to go watch it at the other theater.' Unfortunately, we are a small theater and our main passion here is those indie films," said Oestreich.
Despite its smaller size, Art House decided to adapt to audience demand after the COVID-19 pandemic by offering more mainstream films, a decision that’s proven successful.
“Our first Saturday of 'Wicked' was actually our busiest day at Art House in our whole nine-year history," said Oestreich. “It was very exciting to have every theater pretty full and getting a lot of people that had never been here before, kind of learning about the place, and that just helps build that word of mouth, which is a great marketing tool for us."
There are several other factors the theater cites as to why they are seeing recent success. The cinema is a non-profit, meaning they utilize the help of passionate volunteers to keep costs down. Movie tickets are usually around $9. Additionally, their new pub and restaurant space has helped create a social experience, causing patrons to stay longer. The theater also focused more on "event-ising" films and showing them for a limited time to create a more personal film experience.
“We are all pretty passionate about being here and taking care of this place. It's very easy for corporations to just get people that are just clocking in, clocking out, and don't have a whole lot of passion," said Oestreich. "There was some adjustments that needed to be made, but overall, it has been a successful year."
While Billings’ local theaters are faring better, the broader national trend is concerning. Movie theater attendance across the U.S. has dropped by 33% over the past four years, while ticket prices have increased by more than 30%.
This perfect storm of rising costs and shrinking audiences is further complicated by staffing shortages in the theater industry. Many jobs in the business still pay around minimum wage, which makes it difficult to retain employees.
“I can understand why people don't want to work there and why it's understaffed, but I also just feel bad for the theater experience," said Gabe, who also used to work for an AMC location several years ago. “The people working there were all pretty good, all pretty and high spirits, but also we were working for basically minimum wage, almost less than it felt like. I mean, there were some weeks when I was working there where I couldn't afford to get gas."
For some, the experience of going to the movies is a tradition that's starting to fade. Despite the complaints, many people still find themselves drawn to the big screen during the holidays.
“It's a good time to get out and enjoy each other's company, plus other people, and to support the community also," said Jefferson.
