Ritz at the Bourse movie theater (Google Maps)
This story originally appeared on the Philadelphia Business Journal.
Old City art-house movie theater the Ritz at the Bourse will close at the end of January, according to a report by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Owner Cohen Media Group told the newspaper that the beloved movie house will screen its final films on Jan. 26 and close its doors on Jan. 31. The five-screen theater, which opened in 1990, is a go-to for lovers of independent movies and foreign films that are typically ignored by large multiplexes.
The theater’s current movie lineup includes Oscar-nominated Netflix original The Irishman and Terrence Malick’s A Hidden Life.
In addition to the Bourse location at 400 Ranstead St., Cohen Media Group also owns sister theaters the Ritz East at 125 S. Second St. and the Ritz Five at 214 Walnut St.
The Ritz Theatres were founded in 1976 by Ray Posel with the opening of the Ritz Five. Posel, who died in 2005, was a pioneer in bringing foreign and art-house films to Philadelphia.
Posel Management sold the trio of Philadelphia movie houses to Landmark Theaters of Los Angeles in March 2007.
Landmark, which operates 51 theaters in 27 markets, was acquired by the Cohen Media Group in 2018. CMG was founded in 2008 by Charles S. Cohen, an executive producer of the Academy Award-nominated Frozen River.