Marina Theatre

Hmm… perhaps I spoke too soon regarding SF’s neighborhood theaters disappearing from the city’s landscape! Undoubtedly, their numbers have shrunk over the years, but for those that are sticking around, perhaps they could pick up a thing or two from Marina Theatre. If any were going to hold up against megaplexes, this just might be one of them!
Now, to be blunt, this place isn’t going to blow anyone away. It’s really easy to walk right by without even realizing it and they lack some of those high-​tech amenities — no IMAX screen, no Real 3D set-​up. What’s more, there aren’t any faux-​leather recliners for you to lean back into, and there’s no White Cherry Icee to be found to help quench your thirst (what?!).
Having said all that, Marina Theatre nails everything else — all first run movies, a good sound system, competitive ticket prices, and the fact that it’s always CLEAN. Sure, you may still get the occasional group of Marina Bros, but the crowds are usually pretty low-​key. As in, the theater never gets super packed and the other moviegoers are generally chill (read: no teenyboppers). Plus, the whole theater has a cozy sort of feel, which makes them perfect for a post-​dinner movie dates!
Since a couple of my friends live just a few blocks away, Marina Theatre has become our default spot just because it’s so convenient. Admittedly though, that’s also because the biggest potential knock against this place/​neighborhood (parking) largely hasn’t been an issue for us (thank goodness for the empty spot in their garage!). Even without the parking though, I’d still come here if I were nearby. After all, I’d rather get the same movie going experience (minus the Icee…) from a small, local business than a megaplex chain.

Updating review to 2 stars. Watched ‘Spectre’ at the Marina. The screen was far too dim. They appear to be running the projector bulb low.

This little neighborhood theatre suits it’s purpose down in the marina. There are only two standard theaters neither with stadium seating. It’s old fashioned — reminds me of my childhood growing up. They have good caramel popcorn and offer senior rate tickets. For instance, I don’t particularly like going to the huge theatre on Van Ness, but I always have a pleasant «movie night» here!

I’ve been here on several dates with a former beau, and for some reason, we always manage to come when every theater room is near empty (in the middle of the day). As you can imagine, this makes for very romantic and intimate seating, and the chairs at Marina Theatre are cozy enough that you can flip up an arm rest and snuggle up close if you’d like.
The buttered popcorn is yum and comes with tons of toppings if you want to shake a little more fat-​and-​sodium-​packed goodness onto those crunchy morsels, and the kettle corn is also deliiiicious. Mmmm! The attendants running this tiny little theater are also happy to add as much butter as you request to your movie snacks, so encourage them politely to go nuts with that yellow gold!
Although this is one of the smallest theaters I feel I’ve ever been in, the size definitely adds to its charm. It’s such a great local hole-​in-​the-​wall kind of theater for Marina neighbors, and it’s definitely been one of my favorite go-​to date spots for movies.
Would come again!
… Probably *will* come again.

Last Friday I just happened to be in the Marina getting my brows did at Benefit, and I was strolling along Chestnut. I don’t live in the Marina, and usually don’t spend all that much time there unless a gun is put to my head. I’m a nerd and I have loved the X-​men since reading the comics growing up and here it was opening day of the newest film, and here was this theater, and it wasn’t crowded! I walked in to one guy running all of the ticketing /​food and I was right on time for the 3 something showing of X-​men. RAD. The one guy working was super friendly, did find it odd/​annoying that because he was running both I had to essentially then do two transactions directly after one another for my ticket/​food. Now the food selection, ya that’s another thing. This theater is super nice I have nothing to say negative about the quality of the theater, great comfy seats, quality sound and screen all of that, but when you go to a movie theater you need your food options and they were sparse (maybe cause they usually only have one person working up front?). I went nachos, but besides the cheese that comes in a can that came with the nachos there were no like jalepenos in a station to add on etc. You get my drift I think. Maybe they did me a favor and I didn’t leave with indigestion because of the sparse nature of the condiments. Anyways nice theater otherwise, step up your front of house game though.

I would be giving this place 5 stars but i lost 2 because it was THAT cold, and during Wolf of Wall Street, 3 hours of brrrr.
Place is so cute, the man selling tickets at the front was so pleasant, theatre was really clean, but it was just too freezing in that place.
Will go there again but wear a parka.

According to this Marty Scorsese movie WOLF OF WALL STREET people in the 1990’s did drugs & had sex. Huh? I’m pretty sure people stopped doing those things in the 70’s. Trust me: I’ve asked around. Anyway, it’s also posited that telemarketers who try to get you to buy stocks over the phone might not be completely honest. I, well… I’m shocked. Sometimes I give out my credit card number to people who call me just because that’s a nice thing to do. Well, no more! Boy, thanks to his movie full of deep human insight and observation I know what is what about American society. This was a nice place to lose those illusions.
Comfy seats.

May the odds be in your favour. This is a family run cinema, which is very refreshing. Everything that you expect out of a movie cinema.

This is a cool little theater, don’t come in expecting IMAX screens. But, the projection quality is tip top and so is the sound. A modest 2 screen theater that I enjoyed on vacation. I saw Prisoners, great flick.

I really like this place and am very glad that it is near my apartment! They usually have a good selection of films running, and it’s super easy to pick up a ticket, some snacks and snag a seat. However, the floor has been sticky and the theaters have been cold — but not always! Would not prevent me from returning here a couple times a month.

Very clean. Great popcorn! Workers are very nice, not some rude teenage kids!

This is a great little theatre in Marina! They only have two movies playing at a time, but that’s really all you need. The quality is excellent! The rows are a bit close together, but not unbearable.

Great little theater. All redone to modern specs. Great sound system, and comfortable seating. The staff are nice and personable, not your Megaplex, pimple face, punk kid type place. Typical snack bar, and unlike what Bariqua H. says, the popcorn is just fine… Haha

Interesting place for sure. We were visiting the area and thought to see one of the latest run movies. The seating was good and represented well by the photos. The staff was nice and it appears to be pretty much a cash business (just a fyi). I think that most of the major theater chains could do more to represent good customer service like this place.

One of the great things about San Francisco (as I have grown to love) is the essential banning of large chain anything. Of course there are some exceptions, but overall, SF has done a remarkable job keeping things local. The Marina Theater is a great example — with only 2 theaters, maybe 50 seats max. Definitely feels comfy, never packed/​chaotic, where you can truly kick back and absorb the entire movie experience.

I love this cute tiny vintage movie theater. Its right in the neighborhood and they only play two movies at a time. There’s a small snack stand that only sells the basic snacks (popcorn, soda and candy) which is all you really need. The major AMC is a bit much. I don’t ever remember ordering a pizza, hot dog, nachos, popcorn and an icee for a 1.5 hour movie when I was a kid. Gee talk about child obesity!
Anyway, I really love this place. It’s convenient, cozy and feels like home.

Bought tickets on
and they had no record. We had to pay a second time for 4 tickets. Total price = more than 80 dollars. No apologies. It’s up to customer to prove purchase. In 10 years using
, I’ve never had this problem. They don’t appear to be set up for using the service, unlike AMC on VanNess, e.g., where you can just put your card in and the tickets pop out. We have used the service there hundreds of times. However, the first time at this theater… boom, we have to pay twice and we have to do the work of proving what we claim. We are doing that now.
Problems didn’t stop there. We ordered one popcorn they couldn’t get the order straight. They seem distracted. When we returned an unwanted box, the employee was unpleasant. When we asked for an extra little cup holder to use to share the large pop corn, the employee would only give one when we were four people sharing the large popcorn.
The sense was: these guys are amateurs and not up to speed. Next time, we’re going back to AMC on Van Ness.

Snatched a pair of discount movie tickets from
and had no idea this bright little theater even existed! Looks to be family-​run and operated. Front ticket counter is jam-​packed w/​all the concessions and processed snacks an American could want. 2 screens with clean spacious seating, retractable armrests, and clear views. Caught Valentine’s Day on opening weekend, so can’t really comment on the how the sound system or screen resolution would handle epic action sequences.
Theater was full, but didn’t feel crowded. Not sure if I’d make a special trip to see just anything, but glad this place is on my radar now!

I love this place. San Francisco has a deficit of independent theaters. So many have closed in the last five years that it is sad. I have walked by this theater and the telling sign is the smell of caramel popcorn floating down the street. Surely, last night, the caramel popcorn smell drew us in…
It seems like this place is family run, which makes it more neighborhoody. It also is neighborhoody in that it is in my ‘hood and I can walk there! It’s pretty cool to say that you can walk to the movies, like in the old days. The décor and finishings inside aren’t super modern, but they definitely are not dated and it is clean. I think they have two theaters and we were in #1, which was a decent size. It seemed that since it was smack dab in the middle of everything on Chestnut, a lot of couples decided last minute to catch the movie as they walked in right before showtime. I think it is perfect. Go on a date, get dinner, catch a movie then grab drinks down the street.
(~) They take credit cards and tix were $ 10.50.

I’m a big movie buff and truly believe that the more screens in our city the better. So when I heard Iron Man was playing at the newly reopened Marina Theater, I had to give it a shot. I’ll go out of my way to give my movie going buck to locally owned theaters, even if it means sacrificing a bit in the process.
My first impression (other than the fact that they are cash only — hmph) was that the place is spotless! Let’s just hope it stays that way, even if that means keeping your dirty shoes off the seats people! It was refreshing to see a packed house on a weeknight and the owner giving a speech to talk about the theater was a nice touch.
The cash only thing and no Cherry Coke (Daddy needs a Cherry Coke while watching movies) keeps the Marina Theater at four stars for me. Will I be back? Yes. Might I pick up a Cherry Coke next door at Walgreens as I hit the ATM? Probably. Should you give your hard earned dollars to locally owned businesses? Absolutely.