Hollywood studios have shut down a backyard DIY movie theater in Boston over its illegal screenings — with one showing of “The Wild Robot” ultimately triggering the crackdown.
Wenham Street Cinema owner Matt Shuman received a cease-and-desist letter from a licensing company representing major studios, Swank Motion Pictures, after he showed the 2024 animated film without permission as he was warned he’d face thousands in fines per movie if he continued.
“While we understand that some of your screenings may take place within or adjacent to a private residence,” the email read, according to the Daily Mail, “the nature of your promotional efforts, including public advertisements across online platforms … classifies these events as public in nature.”
The warning left little wiggle room. With about 15 screenings each summer and potential penalties of around $3,000 per title, Shuman said a lawyer advised him to shut the cinema down rather than risk mounting costs.
In 2024, Shuman joked on April Fools’ Day that he’d received a warning from Swank Motion Pictures. A year later, that scenario became real after he screened “The Wild Robot” without permission.
While some community events continued for a short time, neighbors said the cease-and-desist effectively marked the beginning of the end for the cinema.
The final closure came in 2026, when Shuman and his wife Amy moved about a mile away to make room for their 2-year-old son, Caleb, leaving the garage theater behind.
For almost 10 years, Wenham Street Cinema had drawn crowds to a modest garage setup where neighbors gathered for movies, drinks and low-key events.
The cinema began simply in 2016, when Shuman set up a projector in his garage and invited a few neighbors over.
Over time, it turned into a regular neighborhood fixture, typically hosting around 25 people but occasionally drawing much larger crowds.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Shuman recalled memorable nights, including when a pair of 70-year-old movie fans traveled 17 miles from Revere with rum and Coke to watch “The Friends of Eddie Coyle,” sharing stories about sneaking into theaters to see it decades earlier.
On another night, about 150 people packed the driveway and nearby street to watch the Harris-Trump debate.
In a message to supporters, Shuman thanked the community for transforming the space into something meaningful.
“Your encouragement, notes of thanks, and most of all, participation, helped transform an inert and sometimes dank garage into a place that fostered, at least on its best days, connection, smiles, and fond memories,” he said in an Instagram post.
Shuman hasn’t ruled out starting something similar again, but for now, he’s focused on family life and a new job as a fifth-grade teacher.
The projector hasn’t gone unused. It’s now set up in his basement, where the audience is smaller — and fully within the rules.
