Why reopen as a nonprofit?
Three surveys conducted between 2008-2010 by the Bryn Mawr Film Institute found about three-quarters of small movie theaters are nonprofits. There are dozens of nonprofit movie theaters thriving all over the country. We realized this is how small town theaters are surviving.
We did a lot of research trying to find the best way to re-open the Majestic without the fear of it closing shortly after. We learned through our research that the small movie theater market is hyperlocal, and depends more on the economy locally than what movies are being put out by Hollywood. With the continued growth of Crested Butte, we are confident the Majestic will continue to be successful here.
As a non-profit, we will secure grants and government funding so that we have less reliance on the Hollywood movie market, and more opportunity to host films and events that are important to our community. We will also be able to solicit the support of our community so that if we lose money showing a film— since studios can demand such a deep cut of our profits—we can still exist to screen more films that our community wants or needs to see.
Some examples of nonprofit movie theaters: