HIGH SPRINGS — The popcorn machine glowed against the red tile floor and white brick walls inside the Priest Theater.
Nearby, Janet Alligood sat in the glass ticket booth Monday, chatting with patrons and selling $3 tickets to the 8 p.m. showing of “The Croods.”
As Alligood tore a ticket off the roll for a man, he asked if a particular soon-to-be-released film would take the screen.
“I’ll try to get it,” Alligood said. “It’s on my list.”
What Alligood didn’t say is that she hopes her list won’t be gone for good. The 103-year-old theater that Alligood’s family has owned for the past three decades is being threatened by the film industry’s switch to digital.
21st Century Fox announced that this summer, it will discontinue 35-millimeter film reels — the type the theater plays every week. Other film companies are expected to follow suit by the end of the year.
Upgrading would require $85,000 to get digital equipment. The family has been working to garner pledges through an online fundraising page on Kickstarter to buy a digital projector to replace the reel projector, which dates back to the 1940s.
The website keeps track of contributors but doesn’t withdraw the money from their accounts until the end date of the campaign. If the Alligoods don’t reach the goal by June 3, all of the pledges will be erased.
“It’s all, or none,” said Alan Alligood, Janet’s husband.
With 40 days left in the campaign, the theater has raised about $14,000. For now, donation envelopes sit on glass display cases in the lobby, and a thermometer banner tracks the fundraising progress on the outside of the building.
Carol Hunn, a 46-year-old Alachua resident, stood in line with her two daughters to buy popcorn right before the show started. She said her family appreciates the atmosphere of the theater.
“It does have a real sense of family,” she said. “It’s more ...”
Her 13-year-old daughter, Megan, finished her sentence.
“Comforting.”
Contact Kelcee Griffis at kgriffis@alligator.org.
Movie-goers wait for the film “The Croods” to begin inside the Priest Theater in High Springs in 2013.
