The Paramount Theatre's beloved Friday-night classic film series is back after a hiatus — all-ages, $10 tickets, 35mm prints, pre-show organ, and a summer lineup that runs through late July.

The Paramount Movie Classics series has returned to Oakland's 2025 Broadway after a hiatus, and the format is exactly what you'd want: Friday-night 35mm screenings in one of the most beautiful rooms on the West Coast, all ages, $10 a head.

Pre-show entertainment starts at 6:30 p.m. with a live organ serenade on the theatre's Mighty Wurlitzer Opus 2164 — fully restored in 2022 — followed by classic cartoons and movie trailers before the main feature. A full-service bar stocks popcorn and beverages; drinks are permitted in the auditorium. The theatre's Art Deco interior, a National Historic Landmark dating to 1931, does the rest.

This Friday, June 26, it's Fantasia (1940, G, 2 hrs 4 min) — Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra interpreted in Disney animation. On a 60-foot screen with an audience, it's a different film than what you streamed once in 2019. The rest of the summer slate:

  • July 3 — Purple Rain (1984, R)
  • July 10 — Mrs. Doubtfire (1993, PG-13)
  • July 17 — The Mark of Zorro (1920, silent) with live music accompaniment by Mark Herman
  • July 24 — The Maltese Falcon (1940)

That July 17 silent-film-with-live-score night is the one to mark. Few venues in the Bay Area are doing this, and the Paramount is the correct room for a 1920 Douglas Fairbanks picture with a live musician.

Tickets: $10 per person (includes $3.50 restoration fee). All ages require a ticket; no children under 2. Buy at paramountoakland.org or at the box office, open Fridays noon–5 p.m.

Getting there: BART to 19th Street Oakland, exit at 20th Street/Broadway — it's a five-minute walk to 2025 Broadway. If you're driving, flat-rate parking is $20 at the City of Oakland's Telegraph Plaza Garage at 2100 Telegraph Ave (at 21st St), directly across from the theatre's 21st Street entrance.

The move: Arrive by 6:15 for a seat before the Wurlitzer starts. The organ pre-show alone is worth the ticket. If you can only pick one night, the July 17 silent film with live accompaniment is the sleeper of the summer; Fantasia on June 26 is the right call if you're bringing kids.