Next Act Cinema pulls out of Pikesville

The marquee at the Next Act Cinema in Pikesville read, “Thanks for the Memories” Monday night.

Inside, for two hours, visitors tossed back $3 shots and downed the remaining alcohol and food, down to the last kernels of popcorn.

The event, announced on the theater’s Facebook page hours earlier, marked an abrupt final act for the first black-owned movie theater in Maryland.

Two days earlier, the theater’s owners announced “with heavy hearts” that they planned to close the Next Act cinema on Monday.

“Over the past seven years, we have had the privilege of bringing the magic of cinema to Pikesville and creating a space where stories came to life, memories were made, and connections were made,” they wrote in the message.

Social media posts did not include an explanation for the closure and the owners, Anthony Fykes and Robert Wright, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Next Act Cinema’s closure comes as movie theaters across the country face declining box office sales, as moviegoers turn to streaming services and look for ways to cut their entertainment budgets.

The last four years have been brutal for the film industry due to the pandemic, which has made people accustomed to activities at home. During this time, streaming services have outpaced the competition at the box office due to their convenience and price.

Next Act Cinema occupied the former space of The Pikes Cinema at 921 Reisterstown Road – the marquee on the white brick building still reads “Pikes.” The Baltimore Sun reported that the original Pikes, opened in 1938, closed in 1984.

That evening at Next Act, a bartender had called some of his regular visitors to alert them of the evening’s event.

“I would rather they hear from me that we closed. I don’t want them to come down here and see everything empty,” said the bartender, who requested anonymity.

“It’s a loss to the community,” said Jemima Carter, who with her husband was among the few visitors that evening.

She went to the theater a few weeks earlier to see “The Six Triple Eight,” a film about the only black women’s army corps of World War II. The theater, she said, would show films that the black community wanted to see, like “The Color Purple” and Beyoncé’s film Renaissance Tour, Carter said.

When local groups like churches wanted to host movie screenings, they knew they could use the theater, said Daniel Carter, Jemima’s husband. Daniel’s father requested a film screening, and the boutique cinema made it happen in less than a week. It would have taken much longer in larger venues, Daniel said.

“We’re all going to have to go to AMC or Cinemax now,” Jemima said. “You don’t get that kind of service at AMC or other big theater companies.”

In Next Act Cinema’s latest Facebook posts, some users who believe the theater could be facing financial difficulties suggested raising money to save the facility. A local pizzeria that planned to close its doors over Christmas was saved thanks to a $60,000 donation from Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, Jemima noted. She wondered: Why can’t anyone do this for Next Act Cinema?

That evening, for what was probably the last time, Jemima and Daniel were perched in the plush leather seats in the center of the top row of the theater – what they called the best spots among the group of 40 seats. This time, no server was available to deliver their order of pretzels, ginger ale and popcorn.

An hour into the event, only a handful of people were seated in the theater, which was nowhere near enough to clear out the remaining supplies of alcohol and popcorn.

“Maybe,” Jemima muses, “I should post something on Facebook about this.”