Nickelodeon Cinemas (Patriot Cinemas) — Attraction in Portland

The Best Theater in Portland—Hands Down Nickelodeon Cinemas is the movie theater I recommend to anyone in Portland. I’ve been going here for the past 3–4 years, and it’s consistently the best place to see a movie—no contest.

It’s got that classic movie theater feel that most places have totally lost. No oversized recliners trying to turn the place into your living room, no "premium" seats that cost more than your dinner. Just a proper movie theater experience where people actually go to watch the movie. And honestly, that’s refreshing.

Ticket prices? Way more reasonable than they have any right to be in a city like Portland. $6 Tuesdays are a lifesaver. Even on regular days, the prices are still better than the big chains. It makes you want to keep coming back—and it makes it easier to justify the popcorn and candy, which are also pretty decently priced. You’re still spending more than you would at home, sure, but here it feels worth it. I’m more than happy to throw a few extra bucks their way if it helps keep this place running.

They serve Coke products (big win in my book), and the snacks won’t bankrupt you. You can actually walk out of here with your wallet intact and feel good about supporting a local business.

The vibe inside is exactly what I want when I go to the movies. Theaters are cozy, clean, and low-key. No glowing seat lights, no futuristic spaceship aesthetic. It’s just a solid, old-school place to watch a movie the way it was meant to be watched.

Now, is everything perfect? No. The upstairs bathroom has that, uh... historic building smell. Kind of like someone bottled “old wood and bad decisions.” But weirdly, it just adds to the charm at this point. You don’t go to the Nick for the bathrooms—you go for the movies.

All in all, the Nickelodeon is a Portland gem. It’s low-frills in the best way possible, affordable, and focused on what actually matters: great movies, shown properly. I’ll take that over fancy chairs and overpriced...

I've been going to this theater for almost 19 years, since I first moved to Maine; it's far different than back then, when they played older movies, and cost $1.00/$1.50 to see a movie. I went this time, spontaneously. I was waiting for a doctor's appointment that I was accidentally early too, having mixed up another appointment with another. Fortunately, they had a 12:30pm showing of the Black Panther, and it ended with time to walk to my appointment. I paid $7 to see a matinee, which seemed high. I didn't order any concessions, as they were ridiculously expensive; I know that is where theaters make their profits, but $4 for a very small drink, was crazy. Fortunately, they were nice and let me keep my Starbucks coffee I'd just purchased. At first, I was the only patron. Shortly after the film started, a few teens, maybe early 20s, came in, and were loud talking to each other, and were using their cellphone flashlights to find seats; again, I was the only one there, and was sitting back row center. They decided to sit back row left, but were still loudly talking to each other, using their cellphones, and rustling through backpacks. It was absolutely obnoxious, but I was still able to focus on the movie, and enjoy it. I'm giving this theater 3 Stars for my experience, because it's been a while since I've gone (I think the last Twilight movie on a date with my ex-wife, was the time previous), and was hoping for a decent experience, but wasn't tio thrilled with the lack of staff attention to disruptions, or lack of decent matinee pricing. I know this is a small theater, but it was the only movie showing, and the kids who came in, were quite disruptive. Still, a great movie, which I absolutely...

The only movie theater around the downtown area. It’s a cute old school movie theater. But being the only movie theater, as a New York native, it’s pretty hard to transition from reclining seats to this. The seats are pretty stiff and there is no reclining option neither are there any trays for you to put your nachos and popcorn on. So your lap is your tray or the seat next to you. The rows are pretty close to one another so there is a limited leg room space.

The theater opens only 30 minutes before a showing so if you arrive earlier, do not fret and look at the show times. Upon entering the movie theater, there is no one at the front so you’d need to walk in further and get checked in by the concession stand. The service was okay as I was trying to call out for help in the front as there was no one there (can be seen in the images below as well) and it went completely ignored until I approached the employee by the tickets section of the concession stand. The employee at the food section was a lot more friendlier and smiley.

The experience was not bad but it’s a little less technologically advanced so had to refer back to the old school times rather than the new AMC and...