LINCOLN SQUARE — The planned $4 million renovation of the Davis Theater won't just change how people watch movies, it will change what they see on screen.
When the Davis switched to digital projection in 2011, studios stopped shipping huge reels of film — which could take a projectionist up to six hours to assemble — and started sending movies via encrypted disc or satellite transmission.
It's this latter delivery medium that gives the Davis the capability to show what owner Tom Fencl calls "alternative content" — things like productions from the Metropolitan Opera, live concerts and soccer.
"There are opera fans in the neighborhood," he said, and as a 20-year North Center resident, Fencl is more than familiar with the crowds of fútbol fans who congregate at The Globe Pub.
He's been waiting on the renovation to unleash satellite's full potential, wanting to debut both at the same time, he said.
The new Davis isn't completely forsaking its roots, though.
Fencl has held onto several of the theater's old film projectors and hopes to make the Davis a magnet for reel film fests.
"If there's a niche and there's a need, we have the ability to exhibit whatever content there's an appetite for," he said.
As an independent theater owner, Fencl said it behooves him to have a solid grasp of his audience and what they want to see.
Over the years, he's learned that Lincoln Square's moviegoers don't always follow national trends, often turning out in droves for films that don't play well elsewhere and vice versa.
"We have a unique demographic," he said. "'Birdman' did well here. 'Llewyn Davis' did well here. I know Tom Cruise movies bomb here. For some reason, this neighborhood doesn't embrace Tom Cruise."
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