MILFORD, Mich. (WXYZ) — After more than five decades of serving the Milford community, the beloved Milford Independent Cinema will permanently close its doors on January 31st. The nonprofit theater is citing financial struggles, industry changes, and rising costs as the primary reasons for the difficult decision.
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Board member Bryan Gutierrez became emotional when discussing the closure, saying the decision was particularly hard because "We love our people, we love this place."
"Quite simply, finances, long story short," Gutierrez said.
The theater was family-owned and operated until 2020, when Gutierrez and other board members transformed it into a nonprofit organization, Huron Valley Film Organization, initially saving it from closure.
"When we first opened, we had three large corporate sponsors, and that really helped us out those first few years because, like I was saying, it took those highs and lows out of there, it helped us keep a little bit of a war chest in case something went wrong," Gutierrez said.
Now, without that funding, board member Julie Lin says they simply cannot stay open. She explained that fewer customers and industry changes also contributed to the decision.
"We had hoped to evolve with where the film industry has gone, you know, streaming and things like tha,t and we are really in the middle of this evolution, expanding our offerings, doing more things like trivia night and even things like Hollywood's Big Night where we have an Academy Awards event," Lin said.
Milford resident Amelia Price, who grew up attending the theater, expressed mixed emotions about the closure.
"I remember having birthday parties there when I was in elementary school," Price said.
While she's sad to see the theater close, Price said she's not entirely surprised by the decision.
"I definitely don't spend as much time watching movies now as I had previously, but then, especially after COVID, it's like you don't really leave your house as much. There became so many more opportunities through streaming services to find all these movies pretty soon after they were released into theaters," Price said.
Board members say the community has stepped up to help keep the cinema operating, but it would take a significant last-minute donation of tens of thousands of dollars to save the theater.
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When asked why someone should invest that amount, Gutierrez emphasized the broader impact.
"That's a great question, and my answer would be this: it's not investing in the theater, it's investing in the community," Gutierrez said.
If you're interested in helping to save the theater, you can head to https://www.milfordcinema.org/support .
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