Moving away from screening first-run films, the independent venue will bring old favorites back to the big screen, and concentrate on Maine-made cinema.

Citing the pandemic’s effect on the public’s willingness to go out to the movies, Walton explains that The Colonial is largely abandoning first-run exhibition for the time being. Instead, the theater will concentrate on themed revival nights featuring enduringly popular older films that most fans have never been able to see on the big screen. 

In addition, Walton (who’s worked at his hometown theater over the years in various capacities since he was a “popcorn shoveler” as a teen) has announced that The Colonial is opening its screens to Maine filmmakers as part of this new direction. Noting that “Truth Tellers,” Maine director Richard Kane’s documentary on painter Robert Shetterly, recently did big numbers for the theater, Walton says that it’s part of The Colonial’s plan to be a prime destination for other Maine filmmakers to use this century-old theater as the venue for their films.