In case you missed theatrical screenings of “The Nutcracker at Wethersfield,” the new holiday ballet is available on premium video on demand now through January 5. This exclusive window for the 2025 holiday season means you can watch the true story behind an experimental Nutcracker at home.
Showing members of the New York City Ballet (NYCB) reimagining Tchaikovsky’s classical ballet when the world shut down in 2020, the creative team’s core belief in the healing power of art clearly resonates with audiences still trying to find their own footing five years on.
But the NYCB is not alone in reimagining things. Two-time Academy Award winner Jane Fonda recently spoofed AMC Theatre’s COVID-era ad campaign to get moviegoers back to the cinema. Made famous by Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman in 2021, Fonda’s version now sounds the alarm on media conglomeration. “We come to this place for mergers,” she intones, walking into a movie house. “Somehow, corporate greed feels good in a place like this.”
Fonda’s spot-on parody followed her op-ed the week before in “The Ankler.” Writing for this highly regarded Hollywood newsletter, she laid out various concerns about the proposed sale of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Fonda is far from alone. The New Yorker film critic Richard Brody recently wrote “What the Warner Bros. Sale Means for the Art of Movies.” And others have weighed in from separate but related perspectives.
The potential sale of Warner Bros. to Netflix or Paramount Skydance portends fewer and shorter theatrical releases, which I fear will disproportionately affect smaller venues, like my favorite cinemas and movie houses in the Berkshires. On the other hand, certain glimmers of hope for the cinematic experience still exist.
For example, I was recently gifted with a membership to Art House Convergence (AHC). AHC is “a coalition of independent exhibitors that connects, amplifies, and advocates for its community.” With ties to Sundance and the Michigan Theater Foundation, AHC is also now a fully independent nonprofit organization with over 2,000 members.
AHC’s annual board meeting took place earlier this month, too. A highly organized, passionate group of film industry pros, their current projects and strategic plans impress me.
More to the point, perhaps AHC’s moment has just arrived. For one thing, Massachusetts has more exhibitor members than any other state, except Pennsylvania. And I expect the percentage of art house exhibitors to rise and the total number of individual members like me to grow.
Many theaters in the Berkshires and beyond are already adapting and forging ahead. For instance, Images Cinema in Williamstown is adding a 19-seat theater and right-sizing its main theater to 70, as well as installing more comfortable seats and better acoustics. Likewise, The Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington will reopen one of its theaters on Christmas Day with a bigger screen and better sound absorption.
Then there is Waters Edge Cinema in Provincetown, which spruced up its lobby earlier this year. Meanwhile, Phoenix Theatre at Patriot Place in Foxborough promises a new movie-going experience next summer.
The same is true from Hyannis to Pittsfield, with different emphases on energy efficiency, historic preservation, reclining heated seats, and full ADA compliance in balconies.
For timely programming, I am always inspired by the Coolidge Corner Theatre’s sold-out multi-week class “Global Resistance: Challenging Autocracy One Film at a Time,” as well as the upcoming “Meeting the Press: American Journalism in Cinema,” both taught by the same person, historian Judi Freeman.
In Connecticut, too, there are three AHC members. The first is Real Art Ways in Hartford, Conn., which is closing soon for a major renovation. In fact, they are planning to add three new theaters to their existing single screen.
As these architectural drawings show, Real Art Ways is committed to improving the film landscape for whatever comes next.
Similarly, The Avon Theatre in Stamford is closing mid-January for major upgrades. These include a new 39-seat screening room, cutting-edge 4K laser projection, and a larger lobby and concessions space.
In director Joachim Trier’s brilliant new film “Sentimental Value,” a press junket scene sums it all up when a question about “Netflix money” is posed by an offscreen character. This cleverly ironic moment channels the current vibe no matter who buys Warner Bros.
With any luck, art house cinemas will not only survive in 2026, they might just prevail. As for me, I plan to catch “Marty Supreme” Friday morning at The Triplex.
And next week, I will reveal my favorite films of 2025, as only a Woman on the Verge can! Until then, get up, get dressed, and go out to the movies!!
