Providing a lineup of retro films throughout the year, the Broad Theater, located on Broad Street in Souderton, brings together the community while offering an experience to see nostalgic films on the big screen.
According to general manager Steven Wicher, the theater started bringing back older movies because “a lot of parents want to bring their kids to experience the magic of the retro movies on the big screen like they did.”
Wicher said that he has seen a positive response from moviegoers.
“It’s been very positive,” Wicher said, “so positive that we try to do three separate movie marathons throughout the year.”
The marathons begin in October with the theater’s “flick-o-treats” lineup, including John Carpenter’s 1978 slasher, “Halloween” and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
Wicher, seeing older films on the big screen brings people closer together.
“When you’re seeing it on Netflix or Hulu, it’s just more of a private experience in your home,” said Wicher, “but when you’re here in a 130-seat theater, then you can experience it with people who love the film just as much as you do.”
For theater employee Matthew Kennedy, he attended the 50th anniversary showing of “Jaws” at the theater.
“I think it’s a really cool atmosphere,” Kennedy said. “I saw ‘Jaws’ for the first time and it was a really cool experience. I think everyone really appreciates when we bring the movies back, both younger and older.”
According to Kennedy, he’s noticed as an employee that customers are more lively when they come to see an older film.
“I’d say people who come to see them are a bit more talkative,” Kennedy said. “I feel like they talk to us about it more when they come to see an older movie.”
In addition, Kennedy also noted that nostalgia is a big reason why audiences keep showing up.
“I know for a lot of people, the appeal is when we’re bringing back an older movie, it’s something they saw on the big screen when they were younger,” Kennedy said, “and they get the experience to do that again.”
Theater employee Lana Gribbin said that when they bring back older films, the audience differs from newer releases.
“It really depends on the movie,” Gribbin said. “Recently we just had ‘Downton Abbey’ and we have a lot of older folks who come in.”
As an employee, Gribbin said that it’s often easier to prepare for an older film. “If you know it’s going to be an older audience, you can prepare for that,” Gribbin said.
For Wicher, showing older films requires a lot more preparation than showing newer releases.
“New films are downloaded from the satellite on our roof,” Wicher said, “but with an old film, most of the studios send it on this giant flash drive that I have to plug into the computer and download it from there. And that one takes much longer.”
For Wicher, he plans to continue showing older films at the Broad Theater in the future. “As long as audiences keep showing up to them, and they have, then we will continue to show it,” Wicher said.