Montauk Movie Closes For Good

The Montauk Movie Theater—recently also known as CinemaCycle, for the spin classes added in 2013 to boost receipts—will close permanently on Monday, December 1.

The Rutkowski family, which has owned the seasonal movie theater for more than 31 years, sent out an email this week announcing that the theater will close for good after a fundraiser for the East Hampton High School varsity girls softball team on Friday, November 28. The movie “Elf” will be screened at 7 p.m.; “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” at 9 p.m., may be the last flick to run at the cinema.

The last spin class will be on the morning of December 1.

“Our family has enjoyed every minute of bringing movies to Montauk for the past 30 years, as well as helping the community burn off those movie concession calories every morning at spin classes for the last year and a half,” the Rutkowskis said in the email.

Over the winter of 2012-13, the theater’s marquee had advertised that the space was for rent, and David Rutkowski, whose father, John, owns the building, explained at the time that it was becoming increasingly difficult to book movies on 35-millimeter film, yet also difficult to justify upgrading the projection equipment to a digital format.

In the spring of 2013, the theater reopened, but with a twist: Spin classes offered in what used to be the front rows of theater seats would supplement the movie business. Locals and visitors alike took advantage of the classes, which continued even when the cinema shuts down seasonally.

“Spinning has been a great addition to the movie theater. Unfortunately, we do not feel that it can stand on its own,” the email said. “We have grappled with the decision on whether to convert to digital projection equipment, today’s standard, for several years now. However, with high conversion costs and year-upon-year decreases in the amount of Montauk theater-goers, we feel at this time that continuing to operate a seasonal movie theater in Montauk is just not feasible.”

This week, David Rutkowski, who manages the business, said it was not just the cost of converting equipment, but also dwindling theater audiences that were to blame. “It’s been trending this way for a number of years,” he said. “I think fewer people go to the movies,” he said, adding that when increases in gross ticket sales are reported, it might have more to do with higher ticket prices than numbers sold.

The Rutkowskis’ main focus now will be to find a tenant for the theater building on Edgemere Street. “We would convert the use to something that is allowable,” David Rutkowski said. “We do have somebody that’s looking to do something on the fitness side.”

Converting the building into a restaurant would involve a fair amount of red tape, although another theater could go in, or a dry goods store, with little problem.

Spin classes will continue daily in the mornings and at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday through December 1. The family will be selling off equipment like bike shoes, spin bikes, bike covers, movie reels, cinema seats, an ice machine and a popcorn machine, which can be seen by stopping in the mornings or by contacting ridetoday@cinemacycle.net.

Admission to the November 28 fundraiser—“your last chance to get fresh Montauk Movie popcorn,” the email notes—will cost $5.

“We thank you for your patronage and your kind words over the years,” the Rutkowskis wrote.