Wondering where to watch Oscar nominated movies at theaters in Maine? Of course, Mainers have a good reason to see the 2023 nominations.
Why? Because one of our own is up for Oscars. Actually, two of our own.
Who are they? And what Oscars were they nominated to receive?
Well, for starters there’s Eric Saindon for Avatar: The Way of Water. This is actually his third Academy Award nomination for visual effects.
In fact, I watched a profile of Saindon on the TV show “207” in December. He grew up in Gorham.
After that, there is Todd Field of Rockland. He wrote and directed the Cate Blanchett-starring movie Tar.
Where you can watch Oscar nominated films in Maine theaters
I was able to watch Everything Everywhere All At Once via my Showtime subscription. That Oscar-nominated film has nothing to do with Maine, to be sure, but it was entertaining. It’s up for Best Picture, among other awards.
However, maybe you want to go have the real movie theater experience when seeing an Oscar nominated film. Well, you’re in luck.
A number of independent movie houses plus chains like to do their own film festivals, if you will, of Oscar-nominated movies. So, they’ll put together special showings in their theaters. (If you’re lucky, they overlap with National Popcorn Day.)
I did some digging and came up with this list. It is the Maine movie theaters that are showing or will be showing Oscar-nominated films in the near future.
You’ll want to make sure you get to see them all before March 12. That’s the broadcast day for the Academy Awards.
Finally, this list is current as of January 2023.
Apple Cinemas
Westbrook, Maine
Avatar: The Way of Water
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Living
The Fablemans
The Whale
Apple Cinemas IMAX
Saco, Maine
Avatar: The Way of Water
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
The Fablemans
The Whale
Eveningstar Cinema
Brunswick, Maine
Currently showing The Whale
Coming Soon: Living and Women Talking
Flagship Cinemas
Auburn, Falmouth and Wells, Maine
The next Oscar-nominated film to come to Flagship Cinemas will be Elvis. However, right now, you can see these films at one of the three Flagship locations in Southern Maine:
Avatar: The Way of Water
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Auburn only)
The Fablemans
The Whale
Magic Lantern Movie Theatre
Bridgton, Maine
The Magic Lantern is currently showing just one movie that is up for an Academy Award. It’s The Whale with Brendan Fraser, and it’s actually up for three Oscars. Fraser is nominated for his lead actor role.
Nickelodeon Cinemas 6
Portland, Maine
Currently, Nickelodeon Cinemas 6 in Portland, part of the Patriots Cinemas chain, is showing these movies with at least one Academy Award nomination:
Avatar: The Way of Water
Banshees of Inisherin
The Fablemans
The Whale
Women Talking
The following Oscar-nominated films will be at this theater soon:
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Smitty’s Cinema
Sanford, Topsham and Windham, Maine
Avatar: The Way of Water (all locations)
Banshees of Inisherin (Sanford and Windham)
The Whale (Sanford and Windham)
Oscar nonimated Maine filmmakers
The last time a Mainer won an Oscar was in 2021, according to the Portland Press Herald. That was when Erik Messerschmidt, originally from Cape Elizabeth, got an Academy Award in cinematography for the movie “Mank.” The film starred Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried and Lily Collins.