Music Box CEO Brody Sheldon wants to build a mini-empire of historic theaters

As many movie theaters struggle to attract audiences in the age of streaming, Chicago’s Music Box Theatre is preparing to double its screen count.

The arthouse cinema announced last week that it has acquired The Heights Theater just outside of Minneapolis and will add a third screen to its own Lake View home. The expansion is a bit of an experiment, Music Box’s co-owner and CEO Brody Sheldon admitted.

“Our formula that has been successful in Chicago, is this appealing elsewhere? Can we take the show on the road?” Sheldon pondered aloud while seated in the Music Box Lounge, which is currently decked out in holiday decor.

That formula Sheldon has helped fine-tune starts with a “365-day film festival” mindset. That means a calendar that includes everything from a 24-hour horror film fest to spirited holiday singalongs that lure people off their couches. In between big events, like the Chicago International Film Festival, theater programmers curate a mix of cult classics, international flicks, rare movies and some new releases.

As Sheldon likes to say, there’s a little something for everyone, not just diehard cinephiles.

The 47-year-old joined the family business in earnest two years ago after her father, Bill Schopf, suffered a series of health challenges. Schopf, a lawyer by trade, first bought the massive Southport Avenue property, where Music Box is housed, in the 1980s. Later, in the early 2000s, he also became the theater’s operator and launched the distribution arm, Music Box Films.

In some ways, Sheldon says, she grew up at the Music Box. But it wasn’t until more recently that she really began shepherding the business and seeing its growth potential.

“We seem to be doing something right here, and Chicago has given us feedback that whatever we’re offering, they’re happy to receive,” Sheldon said. “So we’re hoping that the third theater, we can offer more of that, and then in Minneapolis, we can bring this there.”

This is all unfolding as movie theaters nationwide are struggling. This fall, domestic box office revenue slumped to a near three-decade low, according to the Hollywood Reporter. And Variety reports that nationwide, nearly 5,700 movie screens have shut down since the COVID-19 pandemic began almost six years ago. In the wake of the pandemic, theaters have continued to face increasing competition from at-home streaming services, plus there’s the rapid rise of AI and ever-shortening attention spans.

Despite all the industry headwinds, Sheldon said the Music Box has managed to be profitable and contends that, in an era of megaplexes, leaning into what makes it unique is key to the draw. (The Music Box news came on the heels of reports that, further north in Rogers Park, The New 400 Theaters is preparing to reopen and also focus on eclectic lineups and community programming.)

At the Music Box, many screenings are accompanied by the old-school charm of a live organ performance before the show starts. Plus, the theater’s attached lounge acts as a “third place,” where people can gather to chat or have a drink with friends and fellow movie lovers.

“It's eclectic programming; community partnerships and events; a passionate, dedicated staff that's very hard working with attention to detail,” said Sheldon, who splits her time between Chicago and New Jersey. “I'd say those are some ingredients. That's the core of it.”

That dedicated staff includes the theater’s general manager and Music Box Films president, Ryan Oestreich, whom Sheldon calls “a visionary” and “creative force.”

“We’re on the cusp of maybe 300,000 admissions this year,” Oestreich said on a recent afternoon, speaking from the lobby of the Heights. “I mean, that's huge. I think when I started 10 years ago, we maybe did 150,000.”

With success on the home front, they began thinking about expansion. When Sheldon and Oestreich caught wind that the Heights’ owner was looking to sell, the movie-loving duo traveled north to check out the space and immediately knew: They were definitely interested.

“It's kind of like a mini Music Box,” Sheldon said. “There's ornamental molding, a pipe organ, this warm, inviting vibe, a red curtain. So it was clear like, ‘Oh, if this works, this would be a great second mini Music Box Theatre.’”

Oestreich, a 41-year-old Minnesota native, came on board as a partial owner of the Heights, and together with Sheldon and the Schopf family, will take over ownership of the space in January. Sheldon declined to say the final sale price.

In Minnesota, the Music Box staff plans to continue much of what the Heights team has already been doing, Oestreich said, while also introducing some of what has worked in Chicago.

“I think it allows us to share our ideas, because while Minneapolis is not Chicago and Chicago is not Minneapolis, there are always overlapping things that people want when going to the movies,” Oestreich said. For example, he said, maybe the Twin Cities market would respond well to a “Sound of Music” singalong, which has been a hit in Chicago.

If the experiment is successful, Sheldon sees further growth in the future. “That would be the idea,” she said. “To have a small regional chain of historic theaters.”

But the Music Box team is also keenly focused on home base. And Sheldon said, maintaining a building that’s nearly a century old takes constant upkeep and investment. Last year, the theater closed for nearly a month while it replaced its seats, refinished the floors and repainted the proscenium arch.

Now, a third Chicago screen is in the works. When Sheldon first took over for her father, she found a folder titled “theater three” with rough plans inside from when Schopf had considered — then tabled — a third theater on Southport. (The main theater seats 700; a second, small theater was added in the ’90s.)

When community development grant funding from the City of Chicago became available, Sheldon dusted off the idea. Earlier this year, the Music Box received $1.2 million for the $2.5 million conversion of two commercial storefronts into a 100-seat theater. Construction is slated to begin in early 2026 and, if all goes according to plan, the space could be open by next summer.

The additional screen will be housed under the Music Box’s same roof, just south of the current theater entrance. Sheldon said it will allow the theater to be a bigger supporter of local talent.

“We frequently get requests from Chicago filmmakers who want to have their premieres here, and just because of the demand and because of our busy schedule, we don't have the space to accommodate them,” she said. “So this will give us some more flexibility in allowing us to have more partners, do more community events, have premieres for more Chicago filmmakers, and also experiment with more eclectic programming, which seems to be doing so well.”

Together with an Austin, Texas-based architect, the team will design a space that looks historic, but features state-of-the-art technology, Sheldon said.

For Oestreich, the new theater — and the new era it represents — can’t arrive soon enough.

“People never lost the appreciation for going to movie theaters, but I think movie theaters maybe have lost what it is that makes them special,” Oestreich said. “The Music Box never forgot, and if anything, they lean into it more.”

Courtney Kueppers is an arts and culture reporter at WBEZ.