Art houses & film societies / Downtown Royal Oak (Main Street at 11 Mile)
Main Art Theatre
Closed – archive entry · 1941–2021
Metro Detroit's best-known art house, in Royal Oak: it opened in 1941 as a plain single-screen movie house, turned to independent, foreign and classic films in 1983 and ran midnight cult movies on Friday and Saturday nights.
Quick facts
- Opened
- 1941
- Closed
- 2021
- Architect
- Bennett & Straight
- Style
- Art Deco
- Seats
- 800 (later 3 screens)
- Screens
- 3
02 / The story of this place
Make time for these
The Main opened on August 7, 1941, at Main Street and 11 Mile as an 800-seat single-screen house designed by Bennett & Straight. Robert Anthony ran it for many years, and it showed mainstream films. A 1983 renovation split it into two screens and turned it into metro Detroit's best-known art house, specializing in independent, foreign and classic films. A third screen came in 1993, and from 1997 Landmark Theatres ran it as the Landmark Main Art, known for midnight cult screenings on Friday and Saturday nights. It closed at the start of the pandemic on March 16, 2020, reopened briefly, shut again on April 23, 2021, and the closure became permanent in June 2021. It was demolished on July 25, 2022.
- Opened in 1941 as an 800-seat single screen
- Independent, foreign and classic films from 1983
- Midnight cult movies on Fridays and Saturdays
Plan your visit
The Main Art closed for good in 2021 and was demolished on July 25, 2022, so it's gone from Royal Oak. For independent and classic films, check the open cinemas in our guide.
A closer look
Cinemas nearby
Back to cinemas ↗
Multiplexes / Royal Oak
Emagine Royal Oak
A 13-screen cinema on North Main in downtown Royal Oak, sharing the building with bowling lanes and a Caesars Sportsbook Lounge (21+). The EMX room even has a glassed-in balcony called the Skybox.
Multiplexes / Canton
Emagine Canton
A 19-screen first-run multiplex on Ford Road in Canton, run by Michigan-owned Emagine: EMX and Super EMX premium screens with Dolby Atmos, cuddle chairs and a bar. Tickets are $5 on Tuesdays.
Multiplexes / Hartland
Emagine Hartland
A 10-screen first-run cinema on Hartland Road in Livingston County: an EMX premium room with laser projection and Dolby Atmos, heated recliners, a small screening room and a lobby lounge. Tickets are $5 on Tuesdays.