Studio 35 Cinema & Drafthouse — Local services in Columbus

These people saying Studio 35 is great? Sure, buddy. This was the third time I've ever been there. First time, I was a kid and saw the original X-Men. Second, I saw Rocky Horror as a teenager. I just got home from seeing Ghostbusters, and I do not plan to be back. First and foremost, the patrons. They talked all throughout the movie. A couple behind us talked so much, I could have sworn they were trying to do a Mystery Science Theater 3000 imitation. Everyone laughed at the most mediocre one liners as if it were the funniest jokes they've ever heard. The jokes were cute and maybe deserved a chuckle at most, not full blown knee slappers. Second, one of the staff members acted as if they didn't want to be there. I get it, nobody likes to work, and maybe movie theaters aren't his thing, but don't blame me for that. Next, the food. The popcorn, absolutely delicious. The pizza, also delicious. The issue is the wait time. I get it, orders come in, it gets backed up. I've worked food before. Things happen. My problem is if you tell a patron it'll be a 20 minute wait for pizza, and that 20 minutes turns into an hour? There's my issue. If you tell me it's an hour, and it's an hour, I can't be mad. You tell me 20 minutes and it then takes an hour? Yeah, problem. The seats don't have head rests either, which is fine I suppose, but the chairs would be more comfortable if they did. The only redeeming quality in my eyes is the popcorn. They hands down have some of the best movie theater popcorn I've ever had. Unfortunately that pro doesn't outweigh any cons. I get people have nostalgia for that theater, and maybe Studio 35 attracts a certain type of clientele that I myself don't belong to, but if I'm going to a movie, I have certain expectations that weren't met unfortunately, e.g. patrons not talking constantly during a movie. Maybe this visit was a fluke, but it's hard to change what is essentially a first impression. My girlfriend and I agreed, we won't be coming...

We came here on opening weekend of the Barbie movie and they really went all out for it- full on decorations, a custom Barbie drink menu, a Barbie box Photo Booth- it really added to the experience and fun of the show.

Aside from the special event, this place has a great set up- movies, a bar, and pizza with plenty of places to sit and eat and lounge with friends. The seats inside the theatre and super comfy, some chairs in the back even have tables to put food if you order pizza for the show, the prices for drinks and popcorn I thought were reasonable for a movie theatre, and it was air conditioned but not so much that I was freezing throughout the show.

After the show we got pizza and headed upstairs on the outdoor balcony which was a lot of fun. We got the Greek salad and the Swarm pizza which was a spicy pepperoni with a honey drizzle. The pizza was well balanced with spice and cooked well. They also had plenty of substitutions available so a vegan or vegetarian would be happy here as they have plant based meats and cheeses if you want those instead. Our food was made quickly- we waited maybe 15 minutes for it to arrive.

The last thing I’ll mention is the people working there seem to be having fun (many dressed up for the Barbie show) and they seemed to collaborate and enjoy working together. Overall a real fun place to watch a show....

Studio 35 is a great space, and it's AWESOME that they have kept up the tradition of showing the Rocky Horror Picture Show (first Saturday night of each month). Unfortunately, it's sad to see what's happened to the scene over the past 30-40 years.

Where audience members used to show up with costumes and props, prepared to mock, heckle, honor and out-entertain each other through this campy show, now there's a "cast" who've taken over the proceedings (and made themselves the self-proclaimed center of attention). For some reason, the group quietly pantomimes the entire movie (quite badly and unenthusiastically) in front of the screen.

This seems to be purely for their own enjoyment -- it's certainly not worth looking at. What's worse, they feel compelled to direct the audience ("Get out your newspapers!" "Throw your toast now!").

The result? What once was an active audience-driven fun time that people went back to again and again is now an extremely passive experience that discourages repeat visitors. In fact, the person dressed as Frankenfurter does a not-very-engaging stand-up bit for OVER AN HOUR before the show starts, loaded with "rules" and "instructions" aimed at Rocky virgins who make up the majority of the audience. OF COURSE they do. Who would want to come back again and again to have to sit...