What does it take to keep a series of art, foreign and unusual films running in a 1941 movie palace? For the Orinda Theatre's Cinema Craft Series, the answer in 2026 was more tickets than it sold. According to The Orinda News, audiences who attended liked the series, but it "did not generate enough support or sales in 2026" and will not return next year. The final Cinema Craft film is "The Country Girl" with Grace Kelly on Dec. 27, which is also the theater's 85th birthday.
That shared date shows where things stand at Orinda Theatre Square this winter. The theater is marking 85 years with a studio restoration that premieres on its own screen. Across the walkway, a new bar has opened with hours meant to keep people in town after the credits roll. Both depend on the same thing, an Orinda evening spent in Orinda. Between now and New Year's Eve, the calendar will show how that works out.
What's left of Noirvember
The theater called its November program "Noirvember." It began on Nov. 7 with the restored 1947 "Nightmare Alley," with Tyrone Power cast against type as a carnival mentalist. That screening was part of the Disney Restorations Series, which draws on the 20th Century-Fox library Disney bought in 2019. The next day, the Wide Screen Roadshow Series showed "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm" with its overture and entr'acte. Two November programs and the December dates are still ahead.
Date | Program | Series | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
Tuesday, Nov. 24 | "Now, Voyager," 1942, with short subjects | Orinda Classic Movie Matinee | 1 p.m. |
Sunday, Nov. 29 | "Rashomon," 1950 | Cinema Craft Series | 1 p.m. |
Sunday, Dec. 6 | Bryan Eng, jazz piano and vocals | Live at the Orinda | 5 and 7:30 p.m. |
Sunday, Dec. 27 | "The Country Girl" and the new "Texas" restoration | Cinema Craft finale and 85th anniversary | See theater site |
Dec. 28 to 31 | "Fantasia" | 85th anniversary | Varies by day |
"Now, Voyager" is screened the way it was in 1942, when it first played the Orinda: with short subjects before the feature. Bette Davis stars with Paul Henreid and Claude Rains, and Max Steiner's score won an Oscar. Five days later comes "Rashomon," Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film about four witnesses who give four different accounts of the same crime, starring Toshiro Mifune. It is the second-to-last film in the Cinema Craft Series.
Eighty-five years to the night
The Orinda Theatre opened on Dec. 27, 1941. The Orinda News names Donald Rheem as the builder and Alexander Aimwell Cantin as the architect. The building is Streamline Moderne and Art Deco, and its fin-shaped tower and marquee have long been the most visible landmark on that side of Highway 24. Anthony Heinsbergen painted the murals in the foyer and auditorium.
For this birthday, according to The Orinda News, Sony and Columbia Pictures are creating a new restoration of "Texas," the William Holden and Glenn Ford picture that The Orinda News identifies as the film that opened the theater. The Orinda will be the first theater to show it, on Dec. 27. Showtime and ticket details for "Texas" are on the theater's film page. Because ticket prices vary across the theater's mix of films and live shows, The Orinda News suggests buying in advance through orindamovies.com.
The theater nearly missed this milestone. In 1984, a redevelopment plan for the site called for demolishing it, and preservation groups went to court. In 1986, a California Court of Appeal decision overturned the project approvals and the demolition permit. A compromise produced the Theatre Square we know now. The original auditorium was kept and restored, two smaller screens were added, and the theater reopened in 1989. Every anniversary since then has been possible because of that ruling.
"Fantasia" through New Year's Eve
Walt Disney's "Fantasia" follows the anniversary night with four days of screenings. The theater's official listing shows these times:
- Monday, Dec. 28 at 3 p.m.
- Tuesday, Dec. 29 at 6:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, Dec. 30 at 3 p.m.
- Thursday, Dec. 31 at 6:30 p.m.
Two afternoon shows during school winter break and an early-evening show on New Year's Eve give families and longtime moviegoers several ways to fit it in. The New Year's Eve show also lines up with the newest business at Theatre Square.
The bar next door keeps later hours
Sorso Bar & Bites took over the former Starbucks space at 2 Orinda Theatre Square, Suite 106, and served its first guests on Sept. 23, according to Bay Area Telegraph. The owner, longtime Orinda resident Daniele Carsano, told that outlet earlier in the year that he wanted a place to linger after a movie at the Orinda Theatre, with a goal to "give residents an excuse to stay in Orinda."
"I'm going to do something in Orinda and prove people wrong," Carsano told Bay Area Telegraph, describing those who doubted the town could support a lively bar.
Sorso means "sip" in Italian, and the menu follows the aperitivo idea of drinks with something to eat. Bay Area Telegraph lists local oysters, seafood crudo, a daily vegetarian bruschetta, wagyu tartare, lamb chop Milanese, and pizza al padellino, a light Torino-style pan pizza. Beverage Director Lucas Tischler, formerly general manager of Montesacro Walnut Creek, created cocktails that include the Sorso Spritz and the Spicy Nonna, which combines tequila, cilantro and serrano salt foam.
The hours matter most when you plan around the theater. Sorso's website lists 4 to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, with the bar open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, and 4 to 9 p.m. on Sunday. It is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Compared with the theater calendar, here is how those posted hours line up:
- "Now, Voyager," Tuesday, Nov. 24: Sorso is closed on Tuesdays.
- "Rashomon," Sunday, Nov. 29 at 1 p.m.: the film ends before Sorso opens at 4, so the bar works better for an early dinner than as a stop right after the screening.
- Bryan Eng, Sunday, Dec. 6: the 5 p.m. show and Sorso's Sunday hours overlap well, with the bar open until 9.
- "Fantasia," Wednesday, Dec. 30 and Thursday, Dec. 31: both days fall within Sorso's Wednesday-through-Saturday schedule.
Holiday weeks can bring schedule changes, so check @barsorso on Instagram before you go.
Live at the Orinda, and why the tickets matter
The theater's concert series fills the gaps between film programs. Live at the Orinda is a 501(c)(3) DBA of the California Independent Film Festival Association. Its shows are usually on Sundays at 5 p.m., with reserved seats that mostly cost $65 to $105 and no service fees or drink minimums. Tony Award winner Beth Leavel, known for the title role in "The Drowsy Chaperone," sold out her Nov. 8 show. The theater's listing describes Bryan Eng, who plays Dec. 6, as a New York jazz pianist, singer, composer and actor, with performances at 5 and 7:30 p.m. Brenna Whitaker is already scheduled for Jan. 24, 2027.
A sold-out Broadway show and a canceled film series in the same season make the economics plain. Each program at the Orinda continues only if enough people buy tickets. In 2025, The Orinda News reported that adding live entertainment was one way the theater planned to broaden its revenue as streaming put pressure on movie houses across the country. The theater now sends a weekly email newsletter with each week's shows, and you can sign up on the front page of its website.
Across Highway 24, still in progress
CreekHaus is on the other side of the freeway at 31 Orinda Way, in the former Bank of America building. It is the Orinda-based Paymun group's mixed-use project overlooking San Pablo Creek. It is opening in phases. The first phase includes Equator Coffees, a beer garden with pizza from PizzaHacker, Paymun's offices, and Launchpad Learning, an after-school math program started by two Orinda moms. A bistro and a craft cocktail lounge come later. Paymun founder Ben Zarrin told The Orinda News he wants a family-friendly community hub that will "hum from morning to night."
The Orinda farmers' market on Orinda Way, beside the former Rite Aid and Community Park, runs Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. all year, including every Saturday through Dec. 26, according to Contra Costa Farmers' Markets.
Our team at Wendy Moore has enjoyed watching the Orinda Theatre and Theatre Square remain such an important part of the Lamorinda calendar. If you are thinking about your own next chapter in Orinda or anywhere else in the Diablo Valley, we would be glad to talk it through with you, maybe over a coffee before a matinee. Contact Us whenever the timing is right for you.
