What are the opening hours?

Monday 12:30pm - 9pm Tuesday 12:30pm - 9pm Wednesday 12:30pm - 9pm Thursday 12:30pm - 9pm Friday 12:30pm - 11pm Saturday 12:30pm - 11pm Sunday 12:30pm - 9pm

Fine Arts Theatre

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Fine Arts Theatre

Dedicated To First Run Art & Independent Films. Reopened in 1997, the Fine Arts Theatre features Art & Independent films.
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John Cram renovated Asheville's last remaining downtown cinema as part of his Adventure in the Arts. Premiering over 50 films a year, the Theatre is open daily with matinées, evening viewings and late shows on Friday and Saturday nights. Ticket Prices:
Matinées - $9.00
Evenings - $11.00
Seniors (60+) - $9.00

Discount tickets for evening shows:
Students / Military - $9.00
Seniors (60+) - $9.00

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ARKING SUGGESTIONS:
Biltmore Avenue Garage (city parking deck) under the Aloft hotel - The first hour is free, then $1.00 per hour for each additional hour. Metered street parking is free after 6 pm, Monday-Saturday, and all day on Sundays and city holidays.

07/15/2026

57 years ago tonight (7/14/69) EASY RIDER opened at the Beekman Theater in New York City. It would go on to make over $40,000 that week (about $264,000 today) and smash the Beekman’s house record. It grossed even more the following week. The word was out, the hype was real, and Hollywood would forever be changed.

Tomorrow night (7/15/26), EASY RIDER rides again for a special one night only showing at the Fine Arts Theatre as we celebrate the fifty-seventh anniversary of the landmark first feature from character actor extraordinaire and certified lunatic Dennis Hopper. We’ll talk about New Hollywood, how the movie soundtrack became an actual thing of substance, and why Hopper’s landmark text is the defining film experience for the end of the counter-culture, the cresting of the Hippie Wave, and just as relevant today.

A few tickets remain online on our website. The rest will go up for sale tomorrow night when our box office opens at 6:30 pm. Show will roughly start around 7:00 pm with an introduction by local cinematic maniac Michael Wheeler.

Don’t “blow it” as Captain America would say and miss this revolutionary text on the big screen loud and beautiful. Get your motor running and head out on the highway.

07/13/2026

Michael, in outlaw biker mode, is here to blissfully remind you Easy Rider is screening this Wednesday at 7:00 pm in the main auditorium. Tickets are still available on our website as well as some for his other two movies this month (Down By Law and Natural Born Killers) in his Americana Undercurrents series. He’s pictured here next to this utterly beautiful and outstanding Italian Poster that was used to helped promote Dennis Hopper’s directorial debut at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival. It is, graciously, on loan from local cinephile and New Hollywood expert whom Michael has barraged with questions concerning this period of time. It takes a commune, man.

Easy Rider, one of the most popular and infamous examples of the New Hollywood Movement, concerns two bikers who, upon successfully completing a massive drug deal, take off on their choppers to head to Mardi Gras and discover ‘the real America’ along the way. It stars Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda, Karen Black, and a monstrously on fire and scene-stealing Jack Nicholson. Michael will be on hand with a lengthy introduction and discussion to discuss how a Hollywood insider, a talented Nepo-Baby, and the brains and money behind The Monkees all helped create one of the lasting films of the Sixties and beyond. Again, it screens ONCE this Wednesday at 7:00 pm.

07/09/2026

Tonight tonight tonight - We’ve got TWO exciting, fresh, and invigorating movies premiering later!

MADDIE’S SECRET will have its first showtime at 7:20 tonight upstairs and then, starting tomorrow, will play at 1:20 and 7:20 upstairs with a requisite showtime downstairs at 4:00 for the downstairs only theater crowd. The film, the debut film from writer/director/comedian John Early, deals with a sudden overnight success food critic who’s life spirals out of control when they become an online celebrity who’s hiding a wealth of secrets. A satirical comedy with a dash of Aaron Spelling self-aware melodrama, MADDIE’S SECRET has become an actual independent summer darling, and we’re delighted to get to show it for a week. Catch it while you can because, as mentioned, we only will have it for a week and it will have no 7:20 showtimes next Wednesday and Thursday!!!

Also starting TONIGHT is the sultry comedy of dinner party manners THE INVITE starring Seth Rogan, Edward Norton, Penelope Cruz, and Olivia Wilde (who’s acting in this along with directing duties). Following in the tradition of nightmarish social outings such as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolfe and My Dinner with Andre, THE INVITE is about a mired and floundering couple (Rogan and Wilde) who get invited to the hot neighbors apartment (Norton and Cruz) for a night of crossed boundaries, debauchery, and revelations. It’ll play tonight at 7:00 pm downstairs and then, this weekend, will play at 1:00 and 7:00 downstairs with a showtime upstairs of 4:20.

And if you’re free this afternoon, we’re doing our last showtimes of both DISCLOSURE DAY and ROSE OF NEVADA. The latter, the newest from Marc Jenkin, is an absolute tonal feast and, in Michael’s opinion, one of the best and most fresh films of the year. Alright - stay cool and we’ll see you at the movies!!!

07/07/2026

Our July Undercurrents of America series kicks off next Wednesday with a very special one time only screening of the film that defined a generation, reinvented the concept of the soundtrack, and introduced the world to the pathological genius of one Jack Nicholson - it’s Dennis Hopper’s EASY RIDER, and it’s happening 7/15 at 7:00 pm.

Filmed over the first half of 1968, EASY RIDER vividly and poetically captures an America on the breaking point - the Summer of Love was over, Vietnam was at its apex, and Nixon was on the horizon. Its two stars - Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper - struck out to capture this moment with a reinvention of the Western and a parable about the American Dream.

Featuring a soundtrack that includes The Byrds, The Band, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Steppenwolf, EASY RIDER shocked the elders (Spiro Agnew hated it), reinvigorated a lost youth, and forever changed the way American Independent Cinema was made, seen and distributed.

Come recapture a lost moment in time next week when Michael, host of monthly Wheeler Wednesday screenings, waxes and wanes on one of the most crucially important American films of all time. And if you’ve not seen it, what better way to experience it than on the giant silver screen and in a packed auditorium. Tickets are on sale now on our website and remember - the show is 7/15 at 7:00 pm with an introduction and a discussion after the movie by Asheville’s eminent rep film programmer. Tickets will be going fast!

“[EASY RIDER] speaks tersely and aptly for this American age…that is both the best of times and the worst of times.” - Penelope Gilliatt

HEY, WE’RE HEADLINERS, BABY!!!!

07/03/2026

Civic hero and rationality enthusiast Mayor Larry Vaughn wants to remind that you although tomorrow IS a holiday, the beaches will stay open and so will the Fine Arts Theatre. We’ve got the air conditioning blasting, the popcorn sizzling, and two mystical, oddball films for you to watch in lieu of suffering in the HEAT DOME.

ROSE OF NEVADA, the new strange sci-fi/time travel film from Marc Jenkin, is running downstairs in the main auditorium all weekend and is showing daily at 1:00, 4:00, and 7:00. It concerns two down on their luck sailors in Cornwallis who find work on a ship thought missing thirty years prior. Is it still haunted? Have our sailors traveled back in time? Who knows. All we can assure is that it’s gorgeously shot (modern ‘cinematographers’ take note) and WEIRD. This will be the only week we have ROSE OF NEVADA so if you want to check it out, now’s the time!

And upstairs, well - it’s not the Fourth of July without the Americana Maestro Steven Spielberg holding it down in some degree so we’re keeping DISCLOSURE DAY for one more week. It’ll play at 1:20, 4:20, and 7:20. Spielberg, returning to the coveted Alien ground of his other hits WAR OF THE WORLDS, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS…, and ET, is back in mainstream blockbuster mode with this one and delivers an insiders look at the UFO discourse, the entrenched secrets of the BIG GOVERNMENT, and some thrilling action set-pieces. This one will be gone by Thursday night so you only have a few more days to catch it!

Again, we have NORMAL and REGULAR hours all weekend! Come say Hi!

“Martin, it’s all psychological. You yell barracuda, everybody says, “Huh? What?” You yell shark, we’ve got a panic on our hands on the Fourth of July.”

07/02/2026

This month, in concordance with the 250th anniversary of America’s founding, Wheeler Wednesday presents two films that explore the dark ethos of Americana and its cultural heritage through the lens of ‘the road movie.’

EASY RIDER, screening almost exactly 57 years to the day of its release, and DOWN BY LAW, 1986’s operatic fable about three convicts on the lam, both come to you in glorious one night only events with introductions and post-film discussions by the curator of Wheeler Wednesday Michael “Mr Movies” Wheeler.

The capstone of the counter-culture. A genuine generational artifact. One of the most important American films ever made. EASY RIDER, screening at a Baby Boomer friendly time of 7:00 pm on 7/15, is all of these things and more. There was a time ‘before’ it, and then there was a time ‘after’ it: no in between. Starring Peter Fonda, Jack Nicholson, and Dennis Hopper (who directed it at as well) as a group of listless men searching for the ‘real America’ atop their motorcycles, EASY RIDER became one of the defining movies of a generation and changed the way films were made.

DOWN BY LAW, directed by the restless, Ohio-born troubadour Jim Jarmusch (Mystery Train, Broken Flowers, Only Lovers Left Alive), blends the tropes of ‘the road movie’ with dark humor, noir aesthetics, and towering performances from Tom Waits, John Lurie, and the American debut of Italian mega-star Roberto Benigni. It, along with 1984’s Stranger Than Paradise (made two years prior), declared Jarmusch as a singular new independent voice - one full of poetry, reverence, and an acerbic wit. His films explore the backroads of America - the losers, the unrequited, the unwashed. It’ll be screening at 7:00 pm on July 22nd.

Tickets for both of these showings are available online now on our website. We’ve not done two Wheeler Wednesdays in a month since the January David Lynch retrospective, so Michael wanted to express big time thanks for all of you who have made this series so popular and so successful. He couldn’t do it without you!

06/30/2026

We’ve recently confirmed some of our July upcoming new releases and here’s what you can look forward to:

OPENING JULY 2ND: Rose of Nevada, a new Sci-Fi lo-fi feature from Mark Jenkin (Bait, Enys Men), stars Callum Turner (Mr. Dua Lipa, Eternity) and George Mackay (The End, The Beast) as two down on their luck sailors in a remote Cornish village. They sign up for work on the titular Rose of Nevada, a ship thought lost thirty years prior. Upon disembarking, they begin to question their sanity as the voyage crosses a temporal border and the two men maybe have time traveled back to the original vanished boat. Jenkin, whose previous two films also deal with the spooky, discombobulating Cornish region of England, traffics in a deliberate tinny and raw style of filmmaking that adds an unvarnished and timeless aura to his work.

OPENING ON JULY 10th: Maddie’s Secret/The Invite.

Maddie’s Secret is the directorial debut of hilarious and fresh-faced star John Early, a brash stand-up comedian who’s had small roles in 30 Rock, the TBS comedy Search Party, and the film Stress Positions (one of the best Covid era comedies to tackle the subject). His new film, which straddles the line of comedy and drama with aplomb, details a young dishwasher who achieves overnight success online and has her life fall apart due to a cloistered personal secret. Sitting at an impressive 87% on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s become the Indie Darling of the summer, and we’re delighted to be bringing it here.

The Invite, directed by Olivia Wilde (Booksmart, Don’t Worry Darling), is another comedic look at our current milieu as two couples, one stifled and lame and the other sexy and exotic, wage war over the toughest of battlefields: the dinner party. Starring Wilde, Seth Rogen, Edward Norton, and Penelope Cruz, the newest a24 release is a witty, urbane examination of polyamory, modern relationships, and the lengths we go to convince ourselves we’re happy. Think Millennial Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and you’re probably near the target.

06/26/2026

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the basement of a furniture store (or our liminal downstairs bathroom area)….BACKROOMS has returned for another weekend of showtimes at the Fine Arts. In case you missed it the first time or just want to see it again, we’ve got it playing at 4:20 and 7:20 in the upstairs theater.

As for our other movies, we’re holding both DISCLOSURE DAY, the newest film from Steven Spielberg, and Michael Sarnoski’s brutal revision of a classic myth THE DEATH OF ROBIN HOOD for another week. We’ve done some shuffling around with these times so try and keep up.

DISCLOSURE DAY: 1:00, 4:00, and 7:00 all in the downstairs main auditorium.

THE DEATH OF ROBIN HOOD: 1:20 (upstairs).

And for those of you wondering, we WILL BE open on the Fourth of July next week.

06/19/2026

OPENING TODAY: Hugh Jackman returns to the FAT with THE DEATH OF ROBIN HOOD, the new film from Michael Sarnoski (PIG, A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE).

Jackman, entering stoic old man mode once again, plays the infamous thief Robin Hood, albeit this iteration is a more brutal and villainous portrayal of the character. Anticipating dying after a final battle, he instead meets a mysterious woman and a young girl who offer him a shot at redemption before finally shuffling off this mortal coil. In addition to Jackman (who’s receiving rave acclaim for this role), THE DEATH OF ROBIN HOOD also stars Jodie Comer (revelatory in THE LAST DUEL and KILLING EVE), Bill Skarsgard (BARBARIAN, IT), and Murray Bartlett (THE WHITE LOTUS). For those of you familiar with Sarnoski’s PIG (a Covid release with one of the best Nicolas Cage performances you’ve ever seen), expect an introspective character drama that’s at times brutal and funny. For those of you who haven’t, maybe imagine a cross between Clint Eastwoods UNFORGIVEN with the visceral realism of Robert Egger’s THE NORTHMAN. It’ll be playing at 1:00, 4:00, and 7:00 in the main downstairs auditorium.

DISCLOSURE DAY, the latest film from some new filmmaker named Steven Spielberg, heads upstairs for another week of showtimes. It’ll be playing at 1:20, 4:20, and 7:20. Be sure and talk to Michael if you’re an experiencer or have seen a UFO - he’s big into that kind of thing.

06/11/2026

7:00 PM TONIGHT is the first showing of the BRAND NEW FILM from el Maestro Steven Spielberg! DISCLOSURE DAY, his first movie since 2022’s THE FABELMANS, tackles a subject near and dear to the Beard’s heart: ALIENS, UFOS, and SENTIMENTALITY.

Is it a spiritual sequel to CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND? Will ET return? None of us know quite yet - all we can tell you is that the cast is stacked: Coleman Domingo (Sing Sing), Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer), Josh O’Connor (The Mastermind, La Chimera), and Colin Firth (MR DARCY) are all in this heartfelt summer blockbuster that tackles Roswell, government coverups, and what happens when the truth about aliens is finally revealed.

It’ll play at 7:00 pm tonight and have its full slot of showtimes begin tomorrow - 1:00, 4:00, and 7:00 pm in the main auditorium.

Address

36 Biltmore Avenue
Asheville, NC
28801

Opening Hours

Monday	12:30pm - 9pm
Tuesday	12:30pm - 9pm
Wednesday	12:30pm - 9pm
Thursday	12:30pm - 9pm
Friday	12:30pm - 11pm
Saturday	12:30pm - 11pm
Sunday	12:30pm - 9pm

Telephone

+18282321536

Website

http://www.fineartstheatre.com/

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