Metro Detroit’s independent art house theaters continue to dwindle, with the Maple Theater in Bloomfield Hills announcing its permanent closure on Monday.
The theater took to Facebook to explain the closing and thank all customers who have visited over the last 12 years.
“Our lease has expired, and after months of difficult deliberations, we have decided that it is time to end our run as operators of this wonderful institution,” the statement reads. “Being able to operate a theater in our own community was one of the great privileges of our lives.”
Many celebrations and events have taken place at the community theater over the years, and the announcement is without a doubt a major loss for local filmgoers.
The post acknowledged the COVID-19 pandemic’s part in many recent business closures and states that the theater had a difficult time bringing attendance back to pre-pandemic numbers. Consequently, the theater said it was “unable to make the financial commitment necessary to keep The Maple a first-class establishment.”
To honor The Maple’s Elite Memberships, the theater has partnered with Emagine, so anyone currently enrolled in the program will receive a complimentary one-year Emagine Extras membership. Plus, Maple gift cards can be redeemed for Emagine gift cards at its Birmingham 8 location.
In part due to the rise of streaming services, times have been tough for movie theaters and moviegoers, especially when it comes to independent theaters and art houses.
Earlier this year, Cinema Detroit closed after a decade in business. In 2021, Royal Oak’s Main Art Theatre abruptly shut its doors too.
Detroit has very few movie theaters remaining, including Southwest Detroit’s Senate Theater and Old Redford’s Redford Theatre, which focus on classic films, and the DIA’s Detroit Film Theatre, which largely screens art-house and foreign films. The Fourth Wall wine bar, which bills itself as a “microcinema,” also opened late last year. But the only first-run movie theater left in the city is the Bel Air Luxury Cinema on Eight Mile Road.
Rapper Big Sean had been planning to open a movie theater in the city since 2018, but it still hasn’t happened, and according to Crain’s Detroit Business, the plan is on hold.
In Ann Arbor, the Michigan Theater and State Theatre continue to screen indie films.
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