Something extraordinary happened a few weekends ago: the world collectively lost its mind over Spider-Man and an ancient Greek epic at the same time, delivering the biggest box office weekend in human history with a record $410 million. That’s $360 million for Spider-Man: Brand New Day alone (setting the record for the highest domestic opening weekend of all time), and Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey pulling in another $51 million in its third weekend, because some films simply need to be seen “correctly” in their native IMAX.
Those films are just the latest in a year that’s already given us Toy Story 5 crossing $1 billion, Michael moonwalking past every musical biopic record, Project Hail Mary proving Ryan Gosling is a proper movie star, Obsession and Backrooms becoming the latest in horror movie over-performers, and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie printing money on pure franchise muscle (God knows it wasn’t because of the quality of that movie because…yikes). It’s been quite a year, and if you’re in Tampa Bay, you don’t have to settle for a corporate megaplex to experience it.
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From drive-ins and historic buildings to microcinemas and restaurants with screens in the back, there are plenty of unique and independent spots to catch movies this year. Whether you’re in for a blockbuster or the latest indie flick, give these spots a look. Support local while taking in the Hollywood renaissance unfolding before us. Here are some of our favorites.
Tampa Theatre
711 N Franklin St, Tampa
Opened in 1926 and currently undergoing a $30 million restoration ahead of its 100th anniversary this October, Tampa Theatre is what happens when a city decides something beautiful is worth fighting for. A 1,400-pipe Mighty Wurlitzer organ still plays before weekend film screenings beneath a hand-painted ceiling of twinkling stars, and if that singular experience doesn’t give you something to feel, you may want to check your pulse.
Sun-Ray Cinema
12332 University Mall Ct, Tampa
When married couple Tim and Shana Massett took over a shuttered 14-auditorium space at University Mall on a $1 million small business loan, most people probably bet against them, and those people were spectacularly wrong. Sun-Ray Cinema is reportedly the largest independently owned and operated movie theater in the country, and it earns that title by pairing first-run blockbusters and cult film screenings with a food menu that includes kimchi hot dogs, vegan milkshakes, and swamp fries loaded with queso and spirulina, which is exactly the kind of earnest, absurd ambition Tampa Bay has needed.
Green Light Cinema
221 2nd Ave N, St. Petersburg
Opening in the middle of a pandemic in 2020 was either the most optimistic business decision in recorded history or proof that some ideas are simply too good to stop, and Mike Hazlett’s 80-seat art house has since gone nonprofit and become a growing home for the city’s arts community, spending the years since proving it was the latter. Green Light has added a full lounge and kitchen next door, quietly becoming a community anchor for indie film, jazz, and local filmmakers, which makes it exactly the kind of place a city doesn’t realize it needs until someone builds it anyway.
The Beach Theatre
315 Corey Ave, St Pete Beach
The Beach Theatre in St. Pete Beach sat dark for 13 years, which is either a tragedy or the world’s longest intermission, and Hannah Hockman and her family decisively chose option three: fix it. They bought the 85-year-old theatre for $1 million, survived Hurricane Debby during renovations, and reopened it in July 2025 as a single-screen gem for indie films, cult classics, and live performances, all at ticket prices that make you feel like someone actually wants you to be there.
Plant City Premiere Lux 8 & Pizza Pub
220 W Alexander St, Plant City
Plant City’s Premiere Lux Cinema 8 earns its indie credentials the old-fashioned way: with reclining seats, reserved ticketing, and a full Pizza Pub, because someone there clearly decided that a proper night at the movies should involve actual food and not just an overpriced bag of something that vaguely tastes of butter. It’s the unsung cinema of eastern Hillsborough County, and with 2026’s stacked lineup coming fast, there’s never been a better excuse to make the drive.
Ruskin Family Drive-In
5011 N U.S. Hwy 41, Ruskin
Opened in Ruskin in 1952, the Ruskin Family Drive-In is the only surviving drive-in theater in all of Tampa Bay, which they’d probably tell you themselves if they weren’t too busy rebuilding after Hurricane Milton took out their screen in 2024. For $7 a head, cash only, you get two first-run movies in one night, sound piped through 89.3 FM, and all of Florida’s humid night sky above you, which is somehow the most perfect setting imaginable.
Gigglewaters
737 Main St, Safety Harbor
Consider this one a restaurant with movies, rather than a theater with food and drink. The Safety Harbor spot has been a local favorite for years, thanks to its award-winning burgers and its popular movie nights. Gigglewaters tends toward reshowings of classic or cult favorite movies as opposed to new films, but they do have Project Hail Mary showing soon, so you can still catch some recent flicks here.
With Dune: Part Three, Avengers: Doomsday, Jumanji: Open World, Cat in the Hat, Street Fighter, Clayface, Godzilla Minus Zero, a new Hunger Games, Digger, and The Social Reckoning all still to come, 2026 hasn’t even gotten to the good part yet. The rest of this year is making a case for theaters that’s almost unfairly persuasive, and Tampa Bay has the independent screens to do it justice.
