West Newton Cinema

The guy at the counter with glasses was a complete jerk. He had no customer service skills at all and was very rude. He probably has no kids and a small man tool

I love this theater! Very old feel and look, but the seats are very comfortable. They have a good mix of popular titles and indie films. Best part — they use REAL BUTTER on their popcorn! It’s the best movie theater popcorn I’ve had in a long time :) FYI — there is not an elevator, but they do offer wheelchair access showings for all the films (usually once a day per film) on the main floor, just check their website for which times. Also, they are cash only, which isn’t really an inconvenience because there’s a few banks within walking distance. Great place!

This is a theatre whose glory years were in the 60’s and 70’s. It’s pretty dated and old. We came here to see First Monday in May. From what I can tell, this is one of those theatres that show art films, documentaries and foreign films.
The theatre is cash only. For the two of us, it was $ 24 to see the movie on a Wednesday evening. We got a medium popcorn, medium Diet Coke and a box of junior mints: total bill $ 16. The staff was friendly and helpful.
The actual theatre/​screen in which we saw the movie is small and dated. Seating was fine – none of the fancy reclining chairs that one is used to nowadays. There was also a strange smell though out the facilities. The restrooms were dated and old as well (one of the two sinks was broken).
There is only street parking. Make sure you bring quarters. Meters have a one hour limit and are free after 6:00 pm.

Ok… I have tried. We have seen multiple movies here over the years because of the convenience that it is closer to our house than driving up to AMC in Burlington or Showcase in Newton. This place is gross. It looks cute and old-​school from the outside, tucked in the downtown of West Newton. The inside is, well, old. $ 12 for adults, cash only… OK fine. I can deal with that. But the inside is in need of a serious update. Dirty old bathrooms, seat cushions are variable depending on the theater you end up in– they could be sunken but wider in the larger downstairs theater, which is marginally more comfortable than the TINY upstairs theaters, with hard vinyl, slashed cushions with metal backs. Very cramped. The heating systems vary too– it could be steaming hot inside one theater, or freezing cold in another. Not comfortable! I’m all for supporting independently-​run businesses, but this one is in need of a serious update. Save your money. Go to Embassy Landmark Theater in Waltham– it’s a dollar cheaper and they have $ 6 matinees on Tuesdays. Unless you really REALLY need to see that independent movie that isn’t playing in any other movie theater…

I completely agree with Ashli A.‘s review. These 1-​star reviews are completely absurd.
Unfortunately, the way the world is turning, these type of neighborhood cinema’s will most likely be completely extinct by 2030… or possibly sooner. Recently, the nearby Sharon Cinema closed, and I REALLY hope that doesn’t happen to the West Newton Cinema as well…
Anyway, this cinema is great. Yeah, maybe it’s not as squeaky clean as the new Showcase down on Route 9, but it’s a neighborhood, local retailer, that is in a much less crowded environment. Prices aren’t really much more than the big box and the actual theatre’s are very cozy. Seats aren’t like rocks (like other old cinema’s), and they have good prices on popcorn, drinks, and candy. Additionally, they always have an interesting (and great, in my opinion), selection of movies, lots of new movies and some classics and older movies. Overall, a great cinema in the Newton area, worth a drive. This IS my favorite theatre (too bad I live about 20 minutes away…). 5 stars.

We rented the a movie theatre for my son birthday party.
The service was terrible. David, the manager had a bad attitude. They over charged us for eating a cake in the hall.
They did not try to take an extra step in helping us.
Not recommended!!!

This movie theater is the worst!!! I agree with the other viewers, the prices are ridiculous, the staff are not friendly at all, it’s cash only, everything is out dated, filthy, owner is very unorganized! I heard from a friend of a friend tell me that a former employee never got paid!!! The owner won’t pay up!!! What kind of business does tha??? t!!! Shame on them! I’ve seen a couple of movies there-​broken chairs in some theaters, long lines, children running around, the bathrooms are disguisting and too many stairs for seniors to walk up! This place should be shut down or modernized for the sake of the community!

Cannot believe this place is open. Never been to such a terrible movie theatre in my life. Unbelievably uncomfortable theatre space, dirty, old, wicked stale popcorn, the rudest people ever (never been to a movie where like 20 people came in 30 minutes into the movie– not necessarily the theaters fault but still). Wish I had driven 30 extra minutes to go somewhere decent. Seriously– what’s the deal?

Expensive, uncomfortable, poorly run, filthy, unstocked bathrooms. Great films, but not worth parking issues and the price.

I wish I could give no star. Came all the way from natick for the 8.25 show tonight. They are cash only. Then it is clearly written on their wall that free refill with large drink. We had popcorn and soda. We came out was than the half way of the movie, but no one was on the counter. We checked several times but no one was there. Don’t know why they advertise lies on the wall. I went outside to make a phone call while waiting for someone to show up at the service desk and got locked outside for 30 minutes of the movie. My friend finally came looking for me and had to open the door for me. After the movie, I waited an additional 15 minutes to talk to somebody about a refund, no one in sight. Will never go back.

If hundreds of obnoxious people fighting over a few dozen parking spots is your idea of a good time, this is the theatre for you.

Movie selection is great but theatre really needs a makeover. Seats are uncomfortable and the feel is less of affable shabbiness and more of why am I here? Â :-(

This place has the best movies and was freezing inside. And at the end of the movie no lights.
What’s going on?

My update: Glad to have a theater in the area that plays good films. Could be less pricey and better manicured with a cheerier staff, but overall a welcome presence in the neighborhood.

Some of these negative reviewers would probably visit ancient ruins and complain that they’re too old and should be renovated or demolished. «Ew, this Colosseum really needs some work. Maybe we should just tear it down and start over.» Â
«OMG, cash only?! How offensive!?» There’s only 5 million banks down the street where you can easily withdraw cash. Or, you know, you could show up with cash to avoid having to walk 5 steps to an ATM.
«Showing an ID as proof of age is really insulting!!!» It could be a compliment; maybe you don’t look old enough to be a senior. Embrace a compliment on your youth at this cinema– unless you’re under 18 and you’re trying to sneak in. P. S. Getting carded is a legal matter. Deal with it.
«This place is too expensive.» Well, thank you for confirming that because of people like you, small, local business owners have no chance in hell. If you are complaining about contributing to your local economy, then you suck. Go enjoy the comforts of corporate corruption!!! AND, by the way, don’t complain to the employees about the pricing. They did not set the prices and they have no power over them. If you don’t want to pay, politely say, «I’m sorry, I’ve changed my mind,» and then leave. Because there’s no point in staying if you’re unhappy with something from the start.
They show interesting movies and they have good popcorn. It seems that if you adjust your attitude and expectations, things in life aren’t too bad. Apply that to this cinema and you will probably be content.

Some of these negative reviewers would probably visit ancient ruins and complain that they’re too old and should be renovated or demolished. «Ew, this Colosseum really needs some work. Maybe we should just tear it down and start over.»
«OMG, cash only?! How offensive!?» There’s only 5 million banks down the street where you can easily withdraw cash. Or, you know, you could show up with cash to avoid having to walk 5 steps to an ATM.
«Showing an ID as proof of age is really insulting!!!» It could be a compliment; maybe you don’t look old enough to be a senior. Embrace a compliment on your youth at this cinema– unless you’re under 18 and you’re trying to sneak in. P. S. Getting carded is a legal matter. Deal with it.
«This place is too expensive.» Well, thank you for confirming that because of people like you, small, local business owners have no chance in hell. If you are complaining about contributing to your local economy, then you suck. Go enjoy the comforts of corporate corruption!!! AND, by the way, don’t complain to the employees about the pricing. They did not set the prices and they have no power over them. If you don’t want to pay, politely say, «I’m sorry, I’ve changed my mind,» and then leave. Because there’s no point in staying if you’re unhappy with something from the start.
They show interesting movies and they have good popcorn. It seems that if you adjust your attitude and expectations, things in life aren’t too bad. Apply that to this cinema and you will probably be content.

Went to see inside out with my children. Â I haven’t been to this theater in years and I can not ever imagine going back.
Cash only, really? After spending $ 50 for 2 adults and 3 children under 7, I had to run down the street to the bank so we could have cash to use at the concession stand. Spent another $ 50 on 3 med. drinks, and 1 large drink, 1 large popcorn, 2 sour patch kids and snow caps.
Had to wait nearly 20 minutes in the hallway until the theater was cleaned, along with a growing number of other movie goers. The guy cleaning the theater finally comes out and scolds all of us in line, telling us to clean up after ourselves and it wouldn’t take him so long to clean up the theater.
There was supposed to be free refills on the large soda and large pop corn. The movie started at 7:35pm and when I went out to the concession stand  around 8:40pm  because I wanted a refill on the large soda, they had already closed down the concession stand. The girls cleaning told me sorry, but nothing they could do.  So much for free refills.
Seats are small and cramped. The screen is tiny compared to the bigger theaters I am used to. The set-​up is terrible for kids. They had difficulty seeing over the seats. They have a limited number of boosters, but we didn’t know this until we saw someone else get one. By the time we went to inquire about them they only had one, so we just went without because we really needed 3 of them.
I guess if you’re looking for some hard to find movie, you can deal with it. But for any big movie, or if you’re taking kids you should really try another theater.

Went to see inside out with my children. I haven’t been to this theater in years and I can not ever imagine going back.
Cash only, really? After spending $ 50 for 2 adults and 3 children under 7, I had to run down the street to the bank so we could have cash to use at the concession stand. Spent another $ 50 on 3 med. drinks, and 1 large drink, 1 large popcorn, 2 sour patch kids and snow caps.
Had to wait nearly 20 minutes in the hallway until the theater was cleaned, along with a growing number of other movie goers. The guy cleaning the theater finally comes out and scolds all of us in line, telling us to clean up after ourselves and it wouldn’t take him so long to clean up the theater.
There was supposed to be free refills on the large soda and large pop corn. The movie started at 7:35pm and when I went out to the concession stand around 8:40pm because I wanted a refill on the large soda, they had already closed down the concession stand. The girls cleaning told me sorry, but nothing they could do. So much for free refills.
Seats are small and cramped. The screen is tiny compared to the bigger theaters I am used to. The set-​up is terrible for kids. They had difficulty seeing over the seats. They have a limited number of boosters, but we didn’t know this until we saw someone else get one. By the time we went to inquire about them they only had one, so we just went without because we really needed 3 of them.
I guess if you’re looking for some hard to find movie, you can deal with it. But for any big movie, or if you’re taking kids you should really try another theater.

My family and I were visiting from out of town and one of my kids wanted to see the movie «Home». Â I went online, found out it was playing here, visited Unilocal,and ultimately decided to give it a try.
First, I should point out, I read the Unilocal reviews, how many of the seats are broken, how its smelly, dirty, and its a last resort for a theater. Â Still, my kid really wanted to see the movie, so my wife decided to take him.
Well, in a nutshell, they never got to see the movie. Â When they arrived at the theatre, the fellow at the office asked them if they were coming to see «Home». Â They responded «yes». Â (He guessed it since it was the only matinée starting at the time at the time they arrived.) Â He told them they couldn’t, because the film projection machine broke 20 minutes earlier.
I mean really? Â What kind of movie theatre closes up shop because a machine is broken, and apparently can’t be fixed? Â Given that very few movies started until much later, this easily could have been moved to another theatre. Â But, no, that would have been too much work.
It will be a blessing once this theatre is either bought out and refurbished or alternately, demolished.

My family and I were visiting from out of town and one of my kids wanted to see the movie «Home». I went online, found out it was playing here, visited Unilocal,and ultimately decided to give it a try.
First, I should point out, I read the Unilocal reviews, how many of the seats are broken, how its smelly, dirty, and its a last resort for a theater. Still, my kid really wanted to see the movie, so my wife decided to take him.
Well, in a nutshell, they never got to see the movie. When they arrived at the theatre, the fellow at the office asked them if they were coming to see «Home». They responded «yes». (He guessed it since it was the only matinée starting at the time at the time they arrived.) He told them they couldn’t, because the film projection machine broke 20 minutes earlier.
I mean really? What kind of movie theatre closes up shop because a machine is broken, and apparently can’t be fixed? Given that very few movies started until much later, this easily could have been moved to another theatre. But, no, that would have been too much work.
It will be a blessing once this theatre is either bought out and refurbished or alternately, demolished.

Great movies, popcorn and ambiance!!!
Awesome food [bbq, burgers, italian] within walking distance.
The negative reviews I’ve read seem to be coming from folks who wine about everything. and unhappy with their lives.

What a sweet little spot! We came here to support my girlfriend Lisa Genova (who wrote Still Alice), to see the first evening opening of the same movie. IT was a quaint and adorable little theater, great for a film that won’t necessarily be main stream. The seats weren’t the most comfortable (hence 4 instead of 5 stars), and they take cash only which is a wee pain. But overall, amazing experience. Check this place out!

If I could give it 0 stars I would. They clearly did not clean the theater for about a week — there was popcorn and sticky soda covering the chairs. It also smelled like wet dog for some reason. The man who sold us the tickets was incredibly rude, demanding our ids even though we are are both 25 and clearly not 16 years old. Worst customer service I’ve ever had anywhere. The screens were also strangely small. Go to any other theater within 20 miles because this place is worth avoiding.

For those that like ‘historical’ theater experience then this one might appeal to you but I think you’ll probably do it once and never return again.
However, if you want to go watch a movie for the sake of the movie. Here is what to expect.
— The seats are very cramped, if you’re 5’8″ and above, your knees are going to knock on some of the seats in quite a few seating areas.
— Short on staff so the place is littered with popcorn, wrappers etc.
— No refunds
— Accepts only cash
We watched «The Imitation Game»:
— Didn’t seem like there was any surround sound.
— Any music or background music can hardly be heard. So much for all the sound engineering and music that was incorporated into the movie because we heard none of that. If a director/​producer were to watch their movies here, I think they’d be furious :-)
— Seats were uncomfortable
— Viewing screens are much smaller than the average independent theatre — probably the smallest one I’ve been to. The quality of the movie on the screen was good.
— Paid $ 11.00 per ticket.
Some thoughts, tips:
— Get there early. Place filled up 15 minutes before the movie started
— Bring cash
— Most of the people here probably come here because of the convenience of its location so they ‘deal’ with it.
Conclusion:
— There are other independent movie theaters around (10 mile radius) that provide a far better experience for your money. But hey, its your money so you decide for yourself.

I want to love this place. It’s independent and local. It brings you back in time. It’s also right down the street and shows a great mix of independent, foreign and mainstream movies.
But for the same price as huge, modern movie theaters, I want a better experience than:
* Unmarked theater: told to go to theater 6, which was already partway into another movie. Those of us looking for our movie wandered around confused for a while until we had to ask the one staff member working that night, who then changed her mind and said theater 5, which had a blank sign outside.
* Falling apart chairs: blocked by yellow caution tape like a crime scene. Those that aren’t falling apart are horribly cramped and uncomfortable to endure for 2+ hours.
* Tiny screens and bad sound quality.
* Lights that come on mid-​movie until another patron had to leave the theater to tell someone to turn them off.
I haven’t been here in years and had poor impressions of it from the last experience. This recent one only reinforces my vow not to return until/​unless this place gets a total rehab.

Elaine from Seinfeld once said of miniplex multi-​theaters, «It’s like a room where they bring in POWs to show them propaganda films.»
The West Newton Cinema lives up to Elaine’s apt description of these theaters, but what makes this place different from the rest is that this place feels a bit like a movie museum, replete with silver-​age movie antiques and memorabilia.
The audience is also in their silver age, and aside from the occasional Russian banter, there’s a welcomed lack of loud conversations, so worst comes to worst, if you do get distracted by noise, at least you can learn a second language.
I really do like this place and hope the city preserves it– it’s a gem.

Very old, vintage movie theater. In some ways I’m happy it exists to keep the old timey movie vibe going, however I’ve been there couple of times and it’s just ok. The theaters smell really musty and old and we joked that they should spray some Febreeze or something in there. This really detracts from your movie experience.
Additionally, my husband and I sat in the back row and all we could hear were weird noises (maybe pipes?) In the wall. Â Then I realized we are close to the bathroom and I wondered if what we’re hearing where people flushing the toilet. It really was bizarre.
Also, CASH ONLY!

West newton cinema is a funny retro gem.
It has a great selection of movies. A few of the theaters are spruced up a bit. Most are pretty run down. If you take in a movie that is not a block buster you may end up in a tiny theater with a small screen.
All in all. I like this place. Happy it is supported well by the community. The area offers some yummy dinner or snack options with in a block.

I like local, small cimenas with history. With that, you can get older seats, stairs to climb and tired carpets. I am okay with that and the West Newton Cinema had that. They also had cool art deco décor all around. But, I saw a movie that was not played anywhere else — I liked that. I will go back. I came to eat popcorn, be with friends and see a movie — and I did just that, happily. But, parking is awful (so get there early enough to drive around and find parking).
Notes:
Street parking meters only let you put coins in for up to one hour.
The cinema only takes cash.
The Large Soda DOES NOT fit in the old wooden seat cup holders.
DO NOT put a dime in their old machines — they are for show only and DO NOT work.

I like local, small cimenas with history. With that, you can get older seats, stairs to climb and tired carpets. I am okay with that and the West Newton Cinema had that. They also had cool art deco décor all around. But, I saw a movie that was not played anywhere else — I liked that. I will go back. I came to eat popcorn, be with friends and see a movie — and I did just that, happily. But, parking is awful (so get there early enough to drive around and find parking).
Notes:
Street parking meters only let you put coins in for up to one hour.
The cinema only takes cash.
The Large Soda DOES NOT fit in the old wooden seat cup holders.
DO NOT put a dime in their old machines — they are for show only and DO NOT work.

Movies: great inde films that you would not find in the bigger theaters
But… only if you are prepare to:
–Go to a outdated movie theatre
–Place is dirty, smelly, and has gnarly staffs
–Seats are tiny tiny uncomfortable seats
–Place is located in a cute little town
–Watch movies with people who are well over 70+ and you are consider young if you are under 60! lol
–Theatre lobby is like a flea market gone wrong
–Cash only (which I don’t get? If you can claim a loss every year and not report your earnings, at least clean the place up!
I came here with a good crowd, so I enjoyed my movie experience. But if you are expecting AMC, Edwards or IMAX like… look somewhere else my friend.