Cinema is in an interesting (if not concerning) place right now. The ubiquity of streaming has devalued and tarnished the moviegoing experience. Coupling that with perpetual economic uncertainty and changing consumer habits in the wake of a pandemic, it’s safe to say theaters are having a tough time at the moment. So movie houses are getting creative when it comes to getting butts back into theater seats.
Beyond tactics like discounting tickets on select days, many theaters across the country have introduced lounge chairs, significantly expanded food and drink offerings, dabbled into revival screenings of classic films and cult favorites, and rolled out a steady stream of novelty popcorn buckets to help entice folks to come back to the movies. Out in New Berlin, Wisconsin, a multiplex is now utilizing one of its screens to give viewers a free sample of the movie viewing experience.
Last month, Marcus Theatres’ Ridge Cinema (5200 S. Moorland Rd., 262-797-9021) debuted its Sneak Peek Theatre. Ridge Cinema is the chain’s first Wisconsin location to offer this unorthodox amenity, with the only other one—at least for now—being offered at the Addison Cinema in Addison, Illinois. As the name suggests, Sneak Peek Theatre gives viewers an early glimpse at movie trailers. Additionally, spaces between previews are filled with movie and TV clips, “trending videos,” Marcus Theatres-produced content, and other “unexpected extras” that are said to change frequently.
There’s no cost to enter the Sneak Peek Theatre. “Just pop in!” as all the branding and signage says. And hey, if you happen to buy a soda, spring for some snacks or even get inspired to stick around for a whole-ass movie, even better. Plus, it saves Marcus from paying film licensing fees to show, like, Elio or whatever to an empty theater at 1 p.m. on a Wednesday. Win-win? Maybe.
Having never heard of anything quite like the Sneak Peek Theatre and, yes, having conflicting feelings about a theater (which desperately needs to bring in more revenue any way it can in 2025) allocating one of its precious screens to trailers and YouTube clips, we decided to trek to New Berlin yesterday to take the new concept for a spin. We figured an hour would be an adequate amount of time to get an idea of the Sneak Peak Theatre vibe. We took one of the 35 seats in Auditorium 10 at 2 p.m. and left at 3 p.m. Here’s a breakdown of what we witnessed.
2:00 p.m – Clips of admittedly funny game show flubs from yesteryear. Okay, this could actually be alright!
2:02 p.m. – A clip of that “red pill or blue pill” monologue from The Matrix for some reason. We’re choosing not to delve deeper into the possible subtext and/or irony of showing that clip at a space specifically dedicated to essentially airing commercials for upcoming movies.
2:03 p.m. – Tron: Ares preview. Jared Leto apparently stars in this one. Hmmm.
2:05 p.m. – A fake trailer for a cat-themed JAWS parody called CLAWS, immediately followed by the JAWS trailer.
2:07 p.m. – A video clip where Kermit the Frog was inserted into a Harry Potter scene.
2:08 p.m. – The trailer for a new kid’s movie called Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie in which Kristin Wiig is the villain.
2:10 p.m. – That vintage “Let’s all go to the lobby” jingle. The subliminal messaging didn’t work on us. We stay put for more Sneak Peek Theatre action.
2:11 p.m. – The “life is like a box of chocolates…” scene from Forrest Gump. Actually, Ridge Cinema’s Sneak Peek Theatre is like a box of chocolates. We honestly have no idea what we’re going to get next.
2:13 p.m. – A parody of the Star Wars crawl that turned out to be a teaser for the new Spaceballs sequel. We’ll see it eventually.
2:14 p.m. – An extended trailer for a Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst, and Peter Dinklage film called Roofman that actually looks pretty good. We’d never heard of this movie before. SNEAK PEEK THEATRE IS WORKING!?
2:17 p.m. – An old Key & Peele sketch where they’re loudly talking in a movie theater, but everything they’re saying is actually a good point related to filmmaking.
2:18 p.m. – The trailer for an upcoming thriller starring Riz Ahmed (Sound Of Metal) called Relay that, too, looks to be worth a watch.
2:20 p.m. – An early 2000s-era Fantastic Four toy commercial immediately followed by the trailer for the new Fantastic Four movie we have no intention of seeing.
2:23 p.m. – A short Marcus Theatres TikTok video starring Greg Marcus and a clip from Slap Shot. Man, Slap Shot is so good!
2:25 p.m. – The super over the top trailer for that forthcoming Bruce Springsteen biopic starring Jeremy Allen White. Man, Slap Shot is so good!
2:27 p.m. – One of those “Bad Lip Reading” videos. This one is Wicked-themed, with dubbed lines like “I love to fart in gravy” in place of actual dialogue.
2:30 p.m. – A Please Don’t Destroy clip lifted from Saturday Night Live about how everyone makes a hard seltzer these days.
2:32 p.m. – Another Marcus Theatres TikTok, this time with Greg Marcus speaking in all Gen Z slang. We have to admit we laughed a few times at this one.
@marcustheatres Greg’s so real for this. #genz #genzintern #genzscript #genzedit #movietheater #gregmarcus ♬ original sound – Marcus Theatres
2:33 p.m. – An approximately 20-year-old clip from the largely forgotten Nickelodeon series Drake & Josh that seems to have only been included because it takes place in a movie theater. What is this place?
2:35 p.m. – The trailer for Freakier Friday (the Freaky Friday sequel) that’s coming out next month. It’s legitimately good to see Lindsay Lohan doing well.
2:37 p.m. – Some type of parody of Love Is Blind or The Bachelor or another similar dating show that seemed far longer than its two-minute length.
2:39 p.m. – The trailer for a Ryan Gosling-starring, Lord and Miller-directed vehicle called Project Hail Mary in which Gosling plays a 6th grade teacher/molecular biologist who travels to a distant point in space in an effort to, uh, save the world…somehow. It comes out next March and this is the first we’ve heard of it. Surely it won’t be pushed on us relentlessly between now and its early 2026 release, right?
2:42 p.m. – Home video clips of trees falling onto houses, chimneys collapsing, cars rolling away from their owners, and other #fails. Clearly, anything goes in the Sneak Peek Theatre.
2:44 p.m. – Another Marcus TikTok chased with a trailer for Nobody 2. Hell yes. Speaking of “nobody,” the only other person in the theater with us (who walked in with popcorn and a soda around 2:25 p.m.) left during this trailer, likely so he could catch the movie he actually came to see. No one else would come in during our time at Sneak Peek Theatre.
2:46 p.m. – Bob Uecker telling a joke about duck hunting.
2:47 p.m. – That clip from Wayne’s World where Wayne and Garth talk about selling out while they shamelessly endorse products. We briefly contemplated going to the lobby to get a Pepsi (“the taste of a new generation”) at this point, but decided we were too close to 3 p.m. to stop now.
2:48 p.m. – The trailer for the new Naked Gun movie that comes out next weekend. We’re extremely excited to see it.
2:50 p.m. – Clips of SpongeBob SquarePants voice actors reading lines from the show. Why didn’t anyone tell us that the dude who played Dauber in Coach voiced Patrick? Well, thanks to Sneak Peek Theatre, that’s now something we know.
2:51 p.m. – A trailer for Bad Guys 2. We missed Bad Guys 1 so we’d probably be lost if we saw it.
2:53 p.m. – A ParaNorman trailer. Never heard of it and don’t care to see it.
2:54 p.m. – The iconic “I am your father” Star Wars clip for some reason.
2:55 p.m. – A preview for Predator: Badlands, which looks very much like something we would see.
2:57 p.m. – Some clip from Conan (TBS talk show-era) that’s a parody ad for “CinemaStreams,” allegedly an innovative new way to watch films on a large screen while seated in a building that’s not your home. That clip hits harder while watching it at the movies.
2:59 p.m. – Did you know Christopher Nolan is making a film about The Odyssey that’s coming out next summer? We didn’t until we saw this short teaser for it.
3:00 p.m. – Finally, our preview-packed and otherwise completely random hour within the walls of the Sneak Peek Theatre concluded just as you’d probably expect it to…with a clip of the dinner scene from the 2006 film Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby that was as low-res as it was out of place in the programming. While it felt weird to have spent an hour at a theater without actually watching a movie, our time was up and we had other stuff to do.
MARCUS RIDGE CINEMA’S SNEAK PEEK THEATRE: Honestly, bless Marcus Theatres for trying something… ANYTHING a little bit outside of the norm to bring people through their doors, to sell some concessions, and to see previews for upcoming films during a particularly terrible time for movie theaters. While we can say with confidence that the Sneak Peek Theatre isn’t worth the trip on its own, it has the makings of being a place to kill time before a movie you actually came to see begins or to get marginal entertainment as you finish up your popcorn or beverage post-viewing. Parents of children that aren’t old enough to sit through a full movie might also consider this as a way to have a theater experience, without actually paying for the movie. Just be ready for the occasional JAWS and Predator previews.
And if you don’t like the idea of things like the Sneak Peek Theatre, then get your ass to the movies a little bit more often and maybe stuff like this won’t need to exist. Until then, feel free to swing by Auditorium 10 at Marcus Ridge Cinema in New Berlin. Just don’t spend an hour there.
