Photograph by Caroline C. Kilgore
This just in: evidently Atlanta is a great place to like movies. A recent study by Movoto deems Atlanta the third best place in the country for movie lovers. We’ll accept the award, even though we suspect it’s a consolation prize because this is too depressing a place to be a sports fan. Think about it. What better way to forget your crushed playoff dreams than to hide in the dark for three hours?
The Movoto formula considered: movie theaters per capita; video rental stores per capita (Do those even exist or do they mean Redboxes?); indie theaters per capita; number of annual film festivals; film/cinema museums; film societies per capita. Bonus points were awarded for specialty theaters.
Atlanta ranked second for number of movie theaters per capita and just above average in every other category. But the Movoto scribe was exceptionally impressed with us for having a drive-in; never mind that sixteen other cities do too. “Because apparently, they just have one of everything in Atlanta.” (Except a winning sports team.) No mention was made of our thriving film industry and Hollywood of the South status.
Portland, Oregon topped the list with its five film festivals a year, plethora of indie theaters and film societies, a film museum and the Kennedy School movie theater. Here’s the rest of the list, which is probably not what you’re expecting it to be,
Portland
San Francisco
Atlanta
Las Vegas
Pittsburgh
Minneapolis
Rochester
Orlando
Seattle
Cincinnati
