Cape Ann Community Cinema

What Cape Ann Community Cinema does

Cape Ann Community Cinema is a Massachusetts-based non-profit independent cinema operating at 21 Main Street in Gloucester, MA, and serving Boston's North Shore film community since approximately 2006. The operator runs four indoor screening rooms — The Rainbow Room (40 seats with couches and diner tables), The Vincent Price (20 seats with armchairs), The Vader Suite (10 seats with wingback leather chairs), and The Café '80s (9 seats, the cinema's first 4K room with cupholders, completed February 2026) — built on digital cinema projection with ongoing 4K upgrades. Beyond its fixed rooms, the cinema operates a 26-foot inflatable Harborwalk Summer Cinema outdoor screen seating 1,000+, a portable mobile screening kit deployed at performance halls, community centers, and houses of worship throughout New England, and HelpFlix, a physical video rental store open 1 PM–6 PM daily that resurrects the American video store concept for titles unavailable on streaming.

The business is owner-operated by Robert Newton (40 years in the movie business), with a headcount of 1–10 employees. After closing for over three years during COVID-19, the cinema reopened in 2023 following construction of ADA-compliant restrooms financed by an anonymous Angel Patron. Revenue mechanics are diversified across six streams: tiered general-admission ticket sales ($7.50–$11.50), a membership program gated by purchase of an $85 ten-ticket bundle (yielding free membership and 10% off premium events), private cinema rentals for events such as birthdays, showers, b-mitzvahs, memorials, and weddings, snack bar sales, HelpFlix physical video rentals, and tax-deductible donations channeled through annual fundraising campaigns (most recently the 20th anniversary 'Fortify The Future' campaign with a $39,820 goal). Distribution combines walk-up box office, Square online ticketing, on-site private rentals, off-site mobile screenings, and the seasonal outdoor series co-presented with North Shore 104.9 FM, The Building Center, and The Gloucester House. The competitive positioning emphasizes independent and foreign film curation, themed intimate seating environments, no 30-minute pre-show advertising (contrasted explicitly against 'corporate' theaters), and a multi-decade community membership model — with lifetime metrics of 250,000+ tickets sold, 2,000+ films screened, and dozens of Oscar/Emmy/Grammy nominees hosted.

Name

Cape Ann Community Cinema

Legal name

Cape Ann Community Cinema

Website

https://capeanncinema.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Cape Ann Community Cinema operates a four-screen independent cinema and HelpFlix video store in Gloucester, MA, serving Boston's North Shore with independent films, private event rentals, mobile screenings, and a 20-year community membership program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent Cinema

NAICS

Motion Picture Theaters (except Drive-Ins) (512131), Video Tape and Disc Rental (532282)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture Theaters (7830), Services-Video Tape Rental (7841)

akta.pro primary industry

Independent & Art-house Cinemas (MPADAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Screenings & Venue Rentals (Corporate, Parties) (MPADAKAJ), Mobile & Outdoor Cinema Operators (MPADAKAK), Alternative Content Exhibition (Live Broadcasts, Concert Films, Sports, Opera) (MPADAKAG)

Keywords

• Independent cinema
• Film screenings
• Video rentals
• Private event cinema
• Outdoor movie series

Headquarters

HQ city

Rockport

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: General admission ticket sales for film screenings across 4 screens. Tiered pricing by age/membership status. Matinee discounts available.
2. Membership Program: Free membership with purchase of 10-ticket bundle ($85). Members receive 10% off premium events and access to exclusive screenings.
3. Cinema Rentals: Private screening room rentals for birthdays, showers, b-mitzvahs, memorials, weddings, and other events. Also available for mobile off-site screenings.
4. Video Store (HelpFlix): Physical video rental store open 1 PM to 6 PM daily. Resurrected American video store concept offering movie rentals.
5. Donations and Fundraising: Tax-deductible donations through annual fundraising campaigns including 20th anniversary campaign. Anonymous $8,000 angel donor contributed to campaign launch.
6. Snack Bar: Snack bar sales offering credits for discounts to members, students, and seniors after live verification.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Cape Ann Community Cinema operates a four-screen independent cinema in Gloucester, MA showing art-house, independent and foreign films not typically available at mainstream theaters. In addition to regular film screenings, it runs the HelpFlix physical video rental store, rents screening rooms for private events such as weddings and birthdays, hosts the annual Harborwalk outdoor summer cinema series, and deploys a mobile screening kit for off-site events across New England.

Product overview

Cape Ann Community Cinema is a four-screen independent cinema located at 21 Main Street in Gloucester, MA. The cinema operates four distinct screening rooms: The Rainbow Room (C1, 40 seats with couches and diner tables), The Vincent Price (C2, 20 seats), The Vader Suite (C3, 10 seats with leather chairs), and The Café '80s (C4, 9 seats, the cinema's first 4K screen with cupholders). Beyond its fixed screens, the cinema offers outdoor screenings via its Harborwalk Summer Cinema Screen (26-foot inflatable screen seating 1,000+), a mobile screening kit for events throughout New England, and private cinema rentals. The cinema also operates HelpFlix, a physical video rental store open daily. Membership is available through purchase of 10-ticket bundles, providing discounts and access to special events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HelpFlix: Video store operated by the cinema, open 1 PM to 6 PM daily. Described as resurrecting the American video store.
• The Rainbow Room (C1)
• The Vincent Price (C2)
• The Vader Suite (C3)
• The Café '80s (C4)
• The Magic Lantern
• Harborwalk Summer Cinema Screen
• The Mobile KIT

Products and services

• The Rainbow Room (C1) A 40-seat screening room featuring a variety of seating including couches and '50s-style diner tables, used for general film screenings.
• The Vincent Price (C2) A 20-seat screening room with mostly armchairs and a dining row in the back, used for film screenings and private events.
• The Vader Suite (C3) A 10-seat screening room with wingback leather chairs and loungers and adjoining restroom, used for film screenings and private events.
• The Café '80s (C4) A 9-seat screening room with wide seats featuring cupholders; the cinema's first 4K screen, completed February 2026.
• Cinema Rentals Private rentals of the cinema's screening rooms for birthdays, showers, b-mitzvahs, memorials, weddings, and other events.
• HelpFlix Video Store A physical video rental store open daily from 1 PM to 6 PM, resurrected from the American video store tradition and offering physical media rentals not available on streaming platforms.
• Harborwalk Summer Cinema An annual outdoor summer movie series using a 26-foot wide inflatable screen seating over 1,000 people, co-hosted at the I4-C2 lot between The Building Center and The Gloucester House.
• The Mobile Kit A portable screening solution featuring a collapsible 10.5' x 14' screen, portable projectors, and sound system for hosting movie nights and special film events at performance halls, community centers, and houses of worship throughout New England.
• 10-Ticket Block / Membership Program A bundle of 10 film tickets for $85.00 ($30 savings) which includes free membership offering 10% discounts on premium events and access to special members-only screenings.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 250,000 tickets sold in 20 years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• North Shore 104.9 FMminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRadio station co-presents the annual Harborwalk Summer Cinema outdoor movie series, providing music before screenings.
• The Building CenterminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-hosts outdoor movie series on the I4-C2 lot between The Building Center and The Gloucester House during summer months.
• The Gloucester HouseminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-hosts outdoor movie series on the I4-C2 lot between The Building Center and The Gloucester House during summer months.
• Alloy OrchestraminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSilent movie accompaniment act that performs live musical scores for cinema events. Described as 'The Beatles of silent movie accompaniment.'
• Devil Music EnsembleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSilent movie musical accompaniment group. First silent movie group the cinema ever hosted.
• Peter KrasinskiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganist who performed series of silent movies on donated vintage Hammond organ 'Verna.'

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• The Brattle Theatre: Single-screen repertory and independent art-house cinema in Cambridge, MA, comparable in scale, programming philosophy, and Northeastern cinephile audience.
• Somerville Theatre: Historic independent cinema near Boston with mixed programming (indie, repertory, mainstream) and a strong community/loyalty orientation comparable to Cape Ann's positioning.
• The Picture House: Nonprofit community cinema in Pelham, NY with multi-screen independent programming and a strong regional arts-and-culture mission, similar in governance and audience.
• The Loft Cinema: Nonprofit independent community cinema in Tucson with repertory and indie programming plus venue rentals — comparable operational and mission structure.
• Coolidge Corner Theatre: Independent nonprofit art-house cinema in Brookline, MA, programming independent, foreign, and repertory films with a similar community-mission orientation and small-screen footprint in the Greater Boston market.
• Scarecrow Video: Nonprofit video rental store in Seattle preserving physical media rental as a cultural institution; the closest analog to HelpFlix's video-store-only component.
• Vidiots: Los Angeles nonprofit combining a revived video rental store with a small screening room — directly comparable dual-format cinema + video store model that informs HelpFlix's design.

Others

• Criterion Collection: Cinephile physical-media and streaming distributor; relevant as the dominant supply side for the curated, repertory audience that Cape Ann and HelpFlix serve.

Broad incumbents

• Alamo Drafthouse Cinema: National chain emphasizing curated, indie-leaning programming with in-theater dining; significantly larger but the closest scaled analog in differentiated cinema operation.
• Landmark Theatres: Art-house theater chain in North America with comparable programming focus, but operating at national scale rather than the single-location community model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-cape-ann-community-cinema-ourtown-cinemas

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cape Ann Community Cinema