Location: 3107 Mt. Pleasant St. NW
Readers’ pick: Landmark E Street Cinema
Nestled in D.C.’s Mt. Pleasant neighborhood is Suns Cinema, an intimate movie theater known for its cinema-themed cocktails and diverse lineup of film screenings.
Upon entering the small two-floor cinema, which opened in 2016, moviegoers are greeted by chatting cinephiles in the quaint bar area on the first floor. The walls are adorned with retro Godzilla posters, and a rotating selection of movies plays on mute on a small projector screen.
At the bar, patrons can get the standard array of popcorn and candy, but it’s the drinks that are sure to impress film buffs and casual watchers alike. Suns offers $15 cocktails like the “Pineapple Express,” a reference to the 2008 Seth Rogen comedy, with gin, Suze, pineapple, cinnamon and lemon. Another highlight is “Blood and Black Lace,” which shares its name with a 1964 Italian horror classic, with scotch, beet, ginger, honey and lemon. The bar also offers beer, wine and herbal liqueur for prices ranging from $5 to $15 for those not in the mood for a cinematic cocktail.
The theater’s one and only screen is on the second floor and seats about 30 people. Though smaller than the rooms in big chains like AMC and Regal, the lower capacity allows for both a communal and personal movie-watching experience, more akin to a charming living room than a cavernous auditorium. Each film, regardless of its length, sports an intermission that allows audiences to use the restroom, refill on concessions or chat with their fellow moviegoers.
Suns constructs its lineups by month, with the owners leaning on themes like directors, countries and holidays to define their selections. Regardless of the month, viewers can expect to see a mix of modern blockbusters, Hollywood classics and foreign films from all eras.
April, themed as “Whimsical Wonders & Wim Wenders,” saw new releases like “Poor Things” and “Perfect Days” run alongside classics like “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “Paris, Texas.” Tickets for popular movies sell out quickly, so be sure to regularly check the Instagram for monthly lineups.
What Suns Cinemas lacks in capacity and Nicole Kidman pre-show trailers, it makes up for in a calm and comfortable moviegoing experience sure to appeal to everyone, even if you don’t own a Letterboxd account.
