An eruption of laughter bursts from the crowd of more than 400 people as Paul Newman cracks a raw egg into a beer and starts drinking it. “That is disgusting,” a man in the audience says. Newman loudly burps, and a second wave of laughter erupts. The audience had gathered for a March 29 screening of “The Verdict.”
The 1982 film, set in Boston, was screened during a film series at the Coolidge Corner Theatre organized by podcaster Bill Simmons as part of his The Rewatchables podcast. Over three days, the theater screened eight films selected by Simmons, including “Goodfellas” (1990), “Good Will Hunting” (1997), and “the Friends of Eddie Coyle” (1973).
While the series was a one-off event, showing older movies is part of the charm – and business strategy – of the iconic Brookline theater.
“Repertory film does well, It does extraordinarily well,” said Billy Thegenus, programming and outreach coordinator for the Coolidge Corner Theatre. He estimates that the theater shows around four different repertory films a week. These films change throughout the year and don’t often repeat except for “Point Break” (1991), “Jaws” (1995), The Big Lebowski (1998), and “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy (2001-3), which are each shown once per year.
Films are chosen anywhere from three months to a year in advance. In the case of the “Big Screen Classic” series, members of the staff all vote on which films to show.
The theater also offers a variety of other series such as “Cult Classics,” and “After Midnight,” which includes showings of “The Room” (2003) and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” (1975).
“A key thing I’m learning is you program for the audience as much as you can. Don’t just program for yourself, because it can’t just be based off of your taste. It has to be what you think people will show up for,” Thegenus explains.
Several months ago, the theater began planning a screening of films to celebrate the career of Gene Hackman. Following Hackman’s death in February, the theater decided to move up the screenings to April and has been playing eight of Hackman’s films over the month.
As a nonprofit organization, the Coolidge Corner Theatre has the flexibility to show what it wants to show, and that includes films unlikely to be seen at nearby theaters.
“I follow the schedule, and I come out to see old movies that I haven’t seen in theaters whenever I can,” Cameron Kelly, who was first in line for the theater’s showing of “Good Will Hunting,” said. Kelly, who lives on the South Shore, makes the hour-long trip to the theater at least once a week. “It’s probably the best place to see a movie in Massachusetts,” Kelly said.
Many of the older films shown at the theater are readily available on streaming platforms. Not only is it cheaper to rent a movie at home, but it’s easier to press play from the comfort of your couch than it is to drive to the theater. After theaters shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic and streaming became more readily available, Thegenus says the Coolidge Corner Theatre has seen a decline in older audiences overall. However, younger audiences, including Millennials and Gen Z, will still pack theaters for movies of all varieties, including screenings of ones that came out before they were born.
“I think it’s really hard to replicate the film experience at home,” said audience member Jonathan Waring after leaving the screening of “The Verdict.” Elements such as the bigger screen, improved sound design, and even the camaraderie of an audience sharing an experience are all reasons moviegoers like Waring are drawn to movie screenings rather than simply streaming at home.
“To hear the audience respond to it in a really positive way, that’s always very rewarding as well, where they’ll burst out laughing during scenes that might be really funny, or they’ll respond, and you’ll hear the hooting and the hollering. That’s always really pleasurable,” Thegenus said.
Coolidge Corner Theatre screenings attract a variety of moviegoers, not just cinephiles. Thegenus starts many of the films by asking “How many people are seeing this film for the first time” and often hands will go up. He’ll then take it a step further by asking, “How many people are seeing this film and have never even heard of it?” Hands continue to be raised.
“Whether those folks are coming alone or coming with friends, that’s always really awesome to see that people are willing to take chances on movies,” he said.