Movies have regularly lit up the big screen at the Northern Nights Theater — the only one in the Southeast Alaska community of Petersburg — for nearly 30 years. But now, the student-run movie theater plans to play fewer films, and less frequently, as it faces a financial crisis.
Equipment repairs and increased operation fees have drained the nonprofit’s reserves, and the theater is struggling to pay its bills alongside the national trend of low show attendance after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Petersburg High School sophomore Rebecca Midkiff is also a theater employee.
“I like working here. It’s good because it has, like, all the soft skills,” Midkiff said from inside the concession space, which smelled of fresh popcorn. “Normal jobs you get in high school, like babysitting, you don’t have to do any of the fancy stuff like (paperwork and interviews.) It’s like a mini real job.”
From behind the cash register, sophomore Maria Toth agreed.
“It’s kind of nice to help, like, build social skills too … it helps you get better at interacting with people,” Toth said. “It kind of prepares you for like actual jobs too, so pretty nice.”
“Overall, all the important skills, non-specified,” Midkiff added.
The nonprofit movie theater is set up inside the town’s middle school, and has employed hundreds of students in the community over the decades it’s been open. It’s the only of its kind on Mitkof Island.
But it’s uncertain how much longer the show will go on.
“We’ve been able to run movies multiple times a month, but with our current financial situation, we’re going to be reducing that,” said Cyndy Fry, the theater’s manager.
Fry said she hasn’t been cashing her paychecks because she wants to make sure the students on staff are paid while the Northern Nights Theater struggles financially.
She said the movie theater is now operating month-to-month on what’s left in its checking account. The nonprofit’s cash reserves were depleted after the most recent round of fall fees — and that was after spending tens of thousands of dollars on repairing theater equipment.
Part of the movie projector system failed from months of inactivity after the theater had closed during the pandemic. Fixing it wasn’t cheap.
“I think, all in all, it was probably close to $20,000 … to be able to show movies again,” Fry said. “So that was quite the financial strain.”
Fry said equipment repair costs were just part of what he called a “bleak” financial picture. Like many theaters nationwide, movie attendance at the Northern Nights Theater has declined since the pandemic. And the theater hasn’t been generating enough revenue to restore its cash reserves and keep up with the costs of running a nonprofit.
“The other piece that’s made it difficult, I think, for theaters just nationwide, is changes in the movie industry itself with the digital releases,” Fry said.
While protocols kept theaters closed during the pandemic, much of the film industry shifted strategies to use digital streaming platforms where consumers watch releases remotely at home.
When movie theaters reopened, blockbusters continued releasing online. Theater attendance declined and major movie theater chains filed for bankruptcy.
“It is challenging for a small theater like ours,” Fry said. “By the time that we can get (a movie in the mail to play), it’s being digitally released at the same time.”
Low audience turnouts mean less money for the nonprofit theater.
“And so then that decreases, I think, the number of people who want to come in to see it on the big screen, when they can perhaps stay at home on their couch and watch it there with their family,” Fry said.
“And then, at the same time … the minimum cost for the production companies has gone up with everything else,” she added.
Regardless of how many people attend a movie, the Northern Nights Theater is required to pay film distributors a certain amount for each movie shown.
Fry said the minimum charge is typically $250 for the weekend — even if only a few tickets are sold. Some companies also take over half of what’s earned from showing their movies.
“So the ticket sales that you see, that’s not all profit coming into the theater. A percentage of that goes back to the production company,” Fry said.
Although the theater has a track record of taking movie requests from the small community, niche films don’t always fill enough seats to pay the fees.
In order to maintain operations as long as possible, the Northern Nights Theater plans to prioritize showing popular, family-friendly films that are more likely to attract a larger audience — ideally, at least 30 people per showing.
“We are certainly trying to be very mindful (of) what movies we bring to town, and they’re ones that are going to generate the greatest crowds and be able to pay for … bringing them to town and to keep us, hopefully, in the positives,” Fry said.
For now, the Northern Nights Theater will be planning operations monthly, showing fewer movies and likely reducing showtimes to every other weekend.
“Depending on if the movies we bring in are enough to pay the bills, then we’ll be able to operate the next month … it’s pretty bleak at this point,” Fry said. “But the more people that come … the longer we’ll be able to sustain offering this entertainment option for the community…”
“That’s the ultimate goal, is to be able to continue the movie theater going,” she added.
Showtimes at the Northern Nights Theater are Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 4. Tickets cost $10 for seniors and $12 for adults, with matinee prices for Sunday shows. The nonprofit also accepts donations under the Compass Theater account at First Bank.