The Egyptian Theatre on Capitol Hill has flickered back to life. WFLM Seattle, the group now running the historic venue, says it has been given the go-ahead to begin a “soft opening,” with midnight movies returning to the space for the first time in roughly two years.
According to Capitol Hill Seattle, the first screening of this new chapter was the cult 90s adventure flick Hard Ticket to Hawaii, shown over the weekend. Seattle Central told the outlet that the operating agreement with WFLM runs through June and can be renewed annually. A fuller, official opening is reportedly planned for later in the year, according to The Seattle Times.
A Theatre Silenced by Flooding
The Egyptian's doors went dark after a major water pipe break damaged the landmark former Masonic Temple in November 2024, Capitol Hill Seattle reported, and the venue had not served the public regularly since. The flooding set off a chain of events that ultimately led the Seattle International Film Festival to step away from the space it had run for a decade.
SIFF confirmed in an October 2025 announcement that it would not continue its lease to manage and operate the Egyptian, noting that reopening the venue was not a sustainable path forward for the organization, per SIFF. The nonprofit said a flood in fall 2024 had forced the closure for repairs, and that it had not operated out of the Egyptian since. SIFF had begun operating the theater in 2014, the organization said.
New Operator, Old Bones
The building at 805 E. Pine in Capitol Hill has a long history that predates its life as a cinema. Sources disagree on exactly when it was constructed as a Masonic Temple: KNKX reports the building dates to 1915, while The Seattle Times' Pacific NW Magazine places its construction in 1916. Seattle Central College purchased the property in 1992 to expand its campus, according to the Times, decades after SIFF founders Dan Ireland and Darryl MacDonald had leased the temple's massive auditorium and remodeled it into the Egyptian Theatre.
WFLM has described plans centered on repertory cinema, crowd favorites, forgotten titles, and the return of late-night midnight movie screenings, the same report from Capitol Hill Seattle notes. The group has said it intends to stick to repertory programming rather than first-run releases, according to The Stranger, which reported that WFLM plans to model its approach on Santa Ana's Frida Cinema.
A Venue With a Recent Festival Run
Even during the theater's extended closure, it wasn't entirely dormant. The Egyptian hosted a three-day festival called Fin de Fest in April, featuring stories tied to Mexico City's punk scene, as reported by KNKX in its earlier coverage of the venue's uncertain future.
For now, the soft opening means midnight movies are rolling again on Capitol Hill, even as the full scope of WFLM's programming and the theater's longer-term schedule continue to take shape under the new operating agreement with Seattle Central.
