The Ambler Theater

The Ambler Theater The historic Ambler Theater is a nonprofit, community-based movie theater that specializes in independent and classic cinema located in Ambler PA!
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The Ambler Theater was opened by its owner Warner Bros. on December 31, 1928, with the movie "Our Dancing Daughters" starring Joan Crawford. An exuberant Spanish Colonial style architecture was employed to create a magical facade with Terra cotta, spacious lobbies (entry lobby, main lobby, vestibule lobby, then foyer), an ornate auditorium with 1,228 seats, and a Gottfried pipe organ (which is lon

g gone). The builder, Phillip Harrison, previously built the Seville (now Bryn Mawr) and Lansdowne theatres, which may explain the Spanish Colonial similarities. Prior movies in Ambler had been shown in an opera house, a second story Civil War era theatre. Due to the competition from TV and the multiplexes, the Ambler was no longer viable to continue as a for profit theatre with mainstream movies and ceased showing 35mm films about 1969 to 1970. By this time the auditorium's side walls and front part of the ceiling were draped over. From the 1970's until 1997 the Ambler was operated as a Christian cinema, showing films in 16mm including The Robe. The Ambler closed again, waiting re-use. The Christian group sold the theatre in 2001 to businessmen, who in turn sold the theatre to the nonprofit: Ambler Theater, Inc. The non-profit organization devoted two million dollars to renovations. Paint colors were chosen to match the original colors. No original carpet was found, so carpet was replicated from photographs with the appropriate colors selected. As the original ticket booth was long gone, a cheap modern ticket booth was removed and replaced with a retro style ticket booth. The ornate new ticket booth took its inspiration from the auditorium's organ lofts. Built in the former rear of the orchestra seating area are two 'black-box stadium seated auditoriums, equipped with digital surround sound. One auditorium has 150 seats, the other has 110 seats. The Ambler reopened February 28, 2003, with those two auditoriums showing the movies Nicholas Nickleby and Real Women Have Curves. As the original 30 foot towering vertical neon sign had been demolished in the late 1960's, an exact replica was constructed by Bartush Signs and funded in part by a Keystone Grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. The neon tower was installed in September, 2005 and officially lit on October 21, 2005. Renovation of the original front section of the auditorium began March, 2007. It reopened October 5, 2007 with the film Into the Wild. The original proscenium arch opening hosts the large movie screen (30 feet wide for 'scope films), ornate decoration on the side walls, and organ lofts. This auditorium with stadium seating for 280 people has a ceiling with what looks like wood beams, but in reality they are made of plaster. Recent renovations have restored the marquee to its original 1928 majesty complete with neon trim and chaser lights. Additional fundraising is being undertaken for more renovations, including restoration of the facade.

Christopher Nolan's THE ODYSSEY is now on screen at our nonprofit theater! Tickets and showtimes are available now at am...
07/16/2026

Christopher Nolan's THE ODYSSEY is now on screen at our nonprofit theater! Tickets and showtimes are available now at amblertheater.org

A mighty epic with a view of human nature more sophisticated than most movies of its type.

Our Hollywood Summer Nights classic film series continues on July 21st with a great musical starring Judy Garland and Ge...
07/08/2026

Our Hollywood Summer Nights classic film series continues on July 21st with a great musical starring Judy Garland and Gene Kellyโ€” THE PIRATE! Check out the whole classic film lineup this summer and get tickets to this film at amblertheater.org/specials

๐—”๐—ฏ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐— ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฒ: This swashbuckling musical from Vincente Minnelli stars Judy Garland as a young dreamer obsessed with the pirate legend of Macoco and Gene Kelly as the debonair circus leader who fights for her heart. Their second feature together, Garland and Kelly have an easy earned chemistry that is a delight to watch over the vibrant technicolor backgrounds. Cole Porter wrote six songs especially for the movie, including โ€˜Be a Clown.โ€™

๐‹๐จ๐ฏ๐ž ๐œ๐ฅ๐š๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐œ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฏ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ? See most classic films for less than $10 each when youโ€™re a member of our nonprofit theater. Join today for as little as $50 a year annually. Learn more and sign up at amblertheater.org/membership

Our Reel Rebels Series continues on July 9th with THE TRUMAN SHOW! Tickets to the 4:15pm and 7:00pm screenings are avail...
07/07/2026

Our Reel Rebels Series continues on July 9th with THE TRUMAN SHOW! Tickets to the 4:15pm and 7:00pm screenings are available now at amblertheater.org/specials

THE TRUMAN SHOW stars Jim Carrey at the height of his โ€˜90s fame as he tones down his bombastic comedic style for a more nuanced and tender performance. Carrey plays Truman, an average suburban working man, whose life is upended when he begins to suspect that it is in fact one massively orchestrated TV show. This thought-provoking film is noteworthy for its satirical vision of the publicโ€™s 24/7 thirst for celebrity culture and โ€œrealityโ€ television.

Peter Weirโ€™s dystopian comedy, starring Jim Carrey as the unwitting star of his own reality TV series, takes on new resonance in the techno-capitalist era

Our $5 Family Matinee Series continues on screen at our nonprofit theater on July 11th with one of the most iconic Disne...
07/06/2026

Our $5 Family Matinee Series continues on screen at our nonprofit theater on July 11th with one of the most iconic Disney films ever made- THE LION KING! Members of our nonprofit theater and their kids get free admission to every $5 Family Matinee. Get tickets early & see what else is playing for only $5 at amblertheater.org/family

๐—”๐—ฏ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐— ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฒ:Bring your littlest movie fans along with you to screen this beloved โ€˜90s Disney film on our big screen! This beautiful hand-drawn animated film follows Simba, a young lion prince, forced into exile by his deceitful Uncle Scar. A cornerstone film from the Disney Renaissance, this charming feature boasts 5 unforgettable songs, including Hakuna Matata and Can You Feel the Love Tonight penned by Sir Elton John.

๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ ๐—˜๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—™๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜† ๐— ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฒ ๐—™๐—ข๐—ฅ ๐—™๐—ฅ๐—˜๐—˜ by becoming a member of our nonprofit theater for as little as $50. Learn more at amblertheater.org/family

โ€‹Once dismissed as a side project, The Lion King defied Disneyโ€™s doubts and became one of the most iconic films in animation history.

Our Retrograde Series continues on July 16th with a 35mm Screening of ALIENS! After the show join us Forest & Main Brewi...
07/06/2026

Our Retrograde Series continues on July 16th with a 35mm Screening of ALIENS! After the show join us Forest & Main Brewing Company for $5 drafts & for 80s Trivia! You could win a print of this special event poster by ! Tickets are available now at amblertheater.org/specials

The follow-up to Ridley Scottโ€™s breakout sci-fi thriller trades the claustrophobic horror for an expansive action spectacle with director James Cameron (The Terminator) behind the camera this time around. Sigourney Weaver returns to the role of Ripley, whoโ€™s rescued from hypersleep and recruited to go on a mission with a team of space Marines to investigate the Xenomorphโ€™s homeworld. Highly quotable and with set pieces turned up to eleven, ALIENS is the rare sequel that packs a visceral and exhilarating cinematic punch.

Happy 4th of July! You can catch Spielbergโ€™s latest film and one of his best films on screen at our nonprofit theater to...
07/04/2026

Happy 4th of July! You can catch Spielbergโ€™s latest film and one of his best films on screen at our nonprofit theater today! Tickets to screenings of DISCLOSURE DAY and to JAWS at 1pm are available now at amblertheater.org

You can catch Spielbergโ€™s latest film and one of his best films on screen at our nonprofit theater this week! Tickets to...
06/28/2026

You can catch Spielbergโ€™s latest film and one of his best films on screen at our nonprofit theater this week! Tickets to daily screenings of DISCLOSURE DAY and to JAWS on July 1st at 3:45 & 7pm and July 4th at 1pm are available now at amblertheater.org

I LOVE BOOSTERS starts on screen this weekend at our nonprofit theater! Tickets and showtimes are available now at amble...
06/25/2026

I LOVE BOOSTERS starts on screen this weekend at our nonprofit theater! Tickets and showtimes are available now at amblertheater.org

No one is doing it like Boots Riley.

See the latest Spielberg on screen at our nonprofit theater this weekend! Showtimes and tickets to DISCLOSURE DAY are av...
06/13/2026

See the latest Spielberg on screen at our nonprofit theater this weekend! Showtimes and tickets to DISCLOSURE DAY are available now at amblertheater.org

A movie that reminds viewers that blockbusters can be morally and thematically complex while theyโ€™re entertaining the hell out of you.

On select Tuesdayโ€™s this summer weโ€™re celebrating 100 years of Mel Brooks! The mini retrospective starts with HISTORY OF...
06/11/2026

On select Tuesdayโ€™s this summer weโ€™re celebrating 100 years of Mel Brooks! The mini retrospective starts with HISTORY OF THE WORLD PART 1 on June 16th! Tickets are available now at amblertheater.org/specials

You can also catch YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN on June 23rd, THE PRODUCERS on June 30th & HIGH ANXIETY on July 7th.

About the movie: This spot-on parody of historical epics and period pieces features Mel Brooks taking on five different roles alongside a stacked ensemble cast that includes Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, Gregory Hines and Orson Welles as the filmโ€™s narrator. Human history is traced through four comedic vignettes set during the Stone Age, the Roman Empire, the Spanish Inquisition and the French Revolution. A canโ€™t-miss entry in Brooksโ€™ filmography.

Address

108 E Butler Avenue
Ambler, PA
19002

Opening Hours

Monday 2:30pm - 10pm
Tuesday 2:30pm - 10pm
Wednesday 1:30pm - 10pm
Thursday 2:30pm - 10pm
Friday 3:30pm - 10pm
Saturday 12:30pm - 10pm
Sunday 12:30pm - 10pm

Telephone

+12153457855

Website

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