Riverview Theater — Attraction in Minneapolis

This is the most charming movie theater in the entire Twin Cities area, hands down, absolutely deserving of its current rating of 4.9 out of five stars! Built in 1948, the owners have worked hard to maintain its last-century charm. Delightful art-deco design touches will catch your eye throughout. The lobby feels as though you’ve stepped back in time, a place where I am instantly at ease. The prices are among the best in town. Show tickets are very reasonable, especially for a matinee. The concessions are very fairly priced as well, and I challenge anyone to find a better popcorn in town! (Seriously, this place might be worth a trip just for the popcorn.)

The theater only has one screen, so they will rotate various shows at different times of day. The screen is smaller than most modern day metroplexes, but it is bright, and the sound system is great. I recently watched a film that featured a child singing, which I heard distinctly behind me and to the left. I thought it was an audience member. Turns out it was the soundtrack! The seats are very comfortable, and while they are not modern day recliners, they do rock a little bit and have movable arm rests that feature cupholders. My last film was 2 1/2 hours, and I was very comfortable the entire time. The front half of the auditorium has a sloped floor, and the back half of the auditorium features stadium style seating, just like they used to do in the old days!

If you’re looking for a great movie watching experience, even more so if you’re looking for something that feels really cool and retro, then the Riverview theater...

This is a special place. It's a movie theater that, according to the official Riverview Theater website, allows a person to "experience movie-going as it was in the 50s." It's true that the building and décor are retro in style, but the Riverview is not just a run-down nostalgia-trap. This is a phenomenal theater, and I'll list a few of my reasons for this. First, it's extremely affordable. The tickets are between two and three dollars depending on when the movie is playing, and the concessions are substantially lower priced than what you find at other theaters. I once took a date to the Riverview and bought two tickets, popcorn, and drinks for, like, less than fifteen dollars. Second, the image and sound quality are solid. Up until a few years ago, I didn't realize that this wasn't a given. Some of the other theaters in the area are pretty horrendous when it comes to the presentation of the actual movie, which is sort of what you're paying for. The third (and likely the most important) reason that I love the Riverview Theater is that feels like a true "neighborhood theater." I often see people walking a few blocks from their house to see a movie here on a Saturday night and wait in line to buy their tickets. This often leads to a full house, almost as if everyone who lived in the area all packed themselves into a room to watch a movie together. When this happens, there is this incredible energy that I don't know how to explain. It's...

Fifties ambience meets modern audio & video, with prices that are truly from another era. You'll find REAL BUTTER on their popcorn, not some greasy, runny, unnatural concoction that betrays its laboratory origins with the first nasty handful. This venue can compare favorably with any of the newly remodeled suburban stadium-seating theaters for sound, picture quality, and seating comfort. Best of all, with prices for both tickets and concessions around 50-75% LESS than the going rate around town ($3.00, all seats General Admission, $2.00 Matinees and all day on Tuesdays), taking the family to the Riverview for "Movie Night" is once again an economically viable proposition.

You can wait, on average, for nine out of ten films that are released each year to come to this second-run theater, and not feel deprived. If it's not a movie on the order of "Black Panther," "The Avengers," "Titanic," "The Grand Budapest Hotel," "Avatar," or "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," the only thing you'll miss by patronizing the Riverview is not being able to talk about a movie - with spoilers - until it arrives here around 4-6 weeks after a general opening. It's well worth the wait, by far. I wish I could give the Riverview...