Movies back in downtown Windsor thanks to Chrysler Theatre

On Friday, Feb. 18, the theatre screened When Harry Met Sally as part of their February Romance Month.

Local resident Christina Sharp said this is her third time coming to the events. 

“We come to the Chrysler Theatre for shows as often as we can,” said Sharp. 

The downtown core has been without a movie theatre since the historic Palace Theatre closed in 2012. This has left downtown residents who don’t have a car without a place to go see a movie. 

“And now with Silver City gone and the downtown doesn’t have the Palace anymore, I’m thinking between myself as well as the Capitol Theatre with their WIFF nights, we are filling that downtown gap.” said Veronica Mancini, manager of the Chrysler Theatre. 

Mancini said her and her team came up with the idea for Friday Movie Nights back in the fall because of capacity restrictions on indoor theatres.  

“What are we going to do?” said Mancini. “We can’t have our 1,100-seat theatre empty, so with that we decided let’s do general admission. We don’t have to worry about physical distancing because people will automatically come with their party and sit down and enjoy a movie.” 

They decided to use the screen they typically use for screenings with the Windsor International Film Festival, said Mancini. But rather than show new releases, they wanted to show classic movies. The first movie they screened was The Goonies in October 2021, followed by The Princess Bride. Both events were a great success. 

“It was fun having people, although limited, in the theatre again.” said Mancini.  

So why would someone come to the Chrysler Theatre instead of a traditional movie theatre? 

“I like older movies,” said April Augustine, who came to the most recent Movie Night. “I like that we can watch older movies on the big screen.” 

Friday Night Movie Nights will be continuing indefinitely with many more movies scheduled, including a Harry Potter marathon during March Break.  

Tickets are $7.90 per person. COVID restrictions are in place and proof of vaccination is required for entry.  

For more information and a full schedule of movies head to the Chrysler Theatre website at chryslertheatre.com or check out the Chrysler Theatre on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.