SIFF Cinema Downtown, the new name on the onetime Cinerama movie theater in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood, has set Dec. 14 as its reopening date.
The first film to show on the iconic theater’s giant screen will be “Wonka,” from “Paddington” writer/director Paul King and starring Timothée Chalamet as the title character at the center of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Tickets will go on sale “soon,” according to SIFF, the nonprofit film and education organization that acquired the Cinerama last May from the estate of the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
The theater, which seats 570 people, plans to show a mix of blockbuster studio films, specialty festivals and events, and first-run arthouse cinema. Ticket prices for reserved seats, including fees, are:
- Member: $16.50 online | $17 walk-up
- Adult: $19.50 online | $20 walk-up
- Senior: $18.50 online | $19 walk-up
- Student: $18.50 online | $19 walk-up
- Child: $14.50 online | $15 walk-up
The trademarked Cinerama name and the licensing agreement to use it went away with the sale to SIFF. SIFF said Allen’s Vulcan Inc. took possession of the signs and will find their next home. According to a FAQ on the SIFF website, SIFF Cinema Downtown will be a temporary name until SIFF determines “a feasible timeline of moving forward to involve the public to select a permanent name and funding rebrand costs.”
The theater originally opened in 1963, just a year after Seattle hosted the World’s Fair. By the late 1990s the Cinerama had fallen into disrepair and was in danger of being demolished. Allen stepped in to save it and poured millions into turning the Cinerama into a technological marvel.
The Cinerama closed in February 2020 for repairs on what was called “normal wear and tear” at the time, but the closure became more permanent due to COVID-19 and lasted more than three years before SIFF made its purchase.
According to The Seattle Times, SIFF is looking to hire about 20 new staffers for the theater, and is negotiating with the recently formed SIFF Cinema Workers Union on those positions and other demands.
SIFF Cinema Downtown played host to the 2023 GeekWire Summit on Oct. 19, attracting nearly 600 attendees as the building once again filled with the smell of the beloved chocolate popcorn and the sci-fi thriller “Arrival” got the projectors fired up again.
