The Magic Lantern is a four-screen cinema on Main Street with a history stretching back to 1929. The original building — known by various names before Tom Goodman renamed it the Magic Lantern in 1977 — eventually succumbed to a sinkhole that caused sloping floors and cracked foundations, and was demolished in 2006. The current building reopened in 2008 with three screens that retain old-fashioned balconies, themed décor from different eras of Bridgton cinema history, and a fourth screen that doubles as a stage for live performances.
Three of the screens are named after historic Bridgton theaters. One contains a pub and café (now called Web's Common), which makes it one of the more pleasant small-town cinema experiences in New England. On a rainy summer day or a cold winter night, it's a good place to be.