On Sunday, November 10, Netflix reopened the iconic Paris Theatre in New York City for an exclusive engagement of Netflix’s Marriage Story. Located near Central Park and the iconic Plaza Hotel, this was the only remaining single screen theater in New York City and was a popular destination for New York cinephiles. The 581-seat theater closed it doors back in April with a note stating the following: “Unfortunately, our lease has ended and the Paris Theatre is now closed. We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to all of our guests over the years. Thank you for your patronage and we regret that we cannot continue to serve you.”
The Paris Theatre opened in 1948 by Pathe Cinema with a ribbon cutting ceremony including Marlene Dietrich and the French ambassador. Over the years, it had numerous owners including Loews Theatres (now merged with AMC), but now it may be Netflix to the rescue of the theater thanks to limited engagements such as this.
Ted Sarandos was on hand at the Paris Theatre for the New York premiere of Marriage Story, directed by Noah Baumbach. Netflix reopened the Paris Theatre for the next month as part of the film’s theatrical run necessary for Oscar qualification. Before introducing Baumbach and the cast of the film, Sarandos said “We were able to reopen the Paris Theatre for this run of Marriage Story,” Saranados said as he introduced the New York premiere of the film at the venue Sunday night. “It’s something we’d like to make a little more permanent — we’re working on it.”
The theater was buzzing with crowds excited to see film. Throughout the night, I spoke with countless attendees who were not only excited to see the film but were also excited that the Paris Theatre reopened. Baumbach himself spoke about the power of the Paris Theatre and that he was grateful “to partner with Netflix” and that he was “excited to be reopening this theater for Marriage Story.”
Much of the cast were present for the screening including Adam Driver, Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta, Julie Haggerty and Azhy Robertson. There was tremendous joy from the crowd as they all took the stage and were able to share their film.
I am hopeful that Sarandos and Netflix will work to keep the Paris Theatre open. Being able to see in this film in this theater was a transcendent experience. Marriage Story is playing at the Paris until November 28th. If you are New York City or will be traveling here and want to see a film in an iconic theater you should take advantage of this unique opportunity.