Do Wilmington residents care enough to take a break from Netflix to watch indie films at a new movie theater in the city?
Bev Zimmermann and Bob Weir are banking on that. They’re the co-owners of The Screening Room at 1313. It’s located on 1313 N. Market St. The building is known as the Hercules Building, which is also where the Chancery Market is housed.
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The Screening Room debuts Friday and will screen 2023 Oscar-nominated short films through Sunday. Film categories are documentary, animated and live action.
Patrons will get another dose of Oscar-nominated flicks next weekend, too.
Since construction of the theater won’t be finished until about summertime, the theater’s temporary location is in the building’s lower atrium in the west side conference room, Zimmermann, of Wilmington, said.
What films will The Screening Room offer?
The Screening Room is an independent theater that specializes in first-run films. Their film listing is planned through March, which you’ll find at the bottom of this story.
The Screening Room, open Friday through Sunday, sells typical theater fare like popcorn, candy and soda.
Patrons also can bring their own beer and takeout to the temporary location this weekend and the next.
Zimmermann said munching on your leftover wings and bringing your booze will be permitted for a limited time only, however, because they’re in the process of acquiring a liquor license.
How much is it to see a film at The Screening Room?
Tickets for the matinee (the first show of each day) are $8.50. General admission is $12.50. Seniors and students pay $9.50.
Eclectic furniture at new theater space
The temporary location offers 60 to 80 seats, with seating that includes sofas, armchairs and chairs.
Zimmermann said they lucked into an eclectic mix of furniture because it was left behind by renowned media company Conde Nast, which formerly utilized the west side conference room.
Conde Nast is home to a laundry list of big brands including GQ, Vanity and Vogue, per its website.
“Maybe we’re going to get people to leave their couch and come to one of ours,” Zimmermann joked.
Enjoy the sofas while you can because the permanent space for The Screening Room will be furnished with traditional theater-style seats for 108 people.
So, who are The Screening room owners?
Weir and Zimmermann tag-teaming on The Screening Room makes a lot of sense. Zimmermann was the original manager of Theatre N at Nemours, and Weir formerly owned the theater.
He also fulfilled a dream of creating the popular Bear Drive-In in 2021, which lasted one season after construction plans from the property owner were moved up, according to a statement from the Bear Drive-In’s Facebook page.
Zimmermann said Weir is very valuable to their operation because he understands all of the technical stuff. He’s also bringing in a lot of his own equipment, which is saving them thousands of dollars.
Projectors can cost around $40,000, Zimmermann explained. But Weir is using his own for The Screening Room.
Hard to find indie films
At the end of the day, Zimmermann said she doesn’t know if The Screening Room will generate enough support to sustain them.
But she’s confident she and Weir can pull it off. She said a number of movie fans she knows crave the experience of watching films in a theater setting in the dark on a big screen, with the volume rumbling.
Zimmermann also mentioned indie films aren’t always easy to come by for consumers.
That’s where The Screening Room comes in.
“Independent films in particular are tough to find. It’s not always on Netflix, Amazon Prime or one of those streaming platforms.”
For more info about The Screening Room at 1313 (1313 N. Market St., Wilmington), visit the theater on Facebook.
The Screening Room film list
Weekend of Feb. 17 & 24: Oscar-nominated short films
- Documentary (3 hours): Friday at 1:30; Saturday at 7:30; Sunday at 6:30 p.m.
- Animated (95 minutes): Friday at 5:30; Saturday at 4:30; Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
- Live action (2 hours): Friday at 8; Saturday at 1:30; Sunday at 3:15 p.m.
Weekend of March 3-5:
- “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On”
- “Aftersun”
- “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Weekend of March 10-12:
- “TÁR”
- “The Whale”
- “To Leslie”
Weekend of March 17- 19:
- “Argentina, 1985” (Argentina)
- “Decision to Leave” (South Korea)
- “Living” (UK)
Weekend of March 24- 27:
- “RRR” (India)
- “Turn Every Page: The Adventures of Robert Caro & Robert Gottlieb”
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