The smell of buttery popcorn lingers in the air as Sonia Cabral and Jennifer Sand curl up in a chair to watch “The Breakfast Club” at the J-Bar on a Sunday night.

The roommates came out to the bar at downtown Scottsdale's posh James Hotel to catch the ’80s cult favorite after hearing about the new weekly movie night.

“We couldn't resist checking it out,” says Cabral, 27, of Tempe. “This is such a cool idea, and it's a cool movie — a classic — that you get to watch in a nice setting.”

About 20 people in their 20s and 30s sit in large chairs on the J-Bar's spacious patio. Heat lamps blast warm air as couples and small groups of friends snuggle up on fluffy pillows and munch on flavored popcorn from small bags.

J-Bar marketing manager Katie Reck says the night was created to offer patrons a “mellowed-out night.”

“Since there isn't a whole lot to do on Sunday nights, we wanted to give people an alternative to staying in,” she says. “They can come here, have some popcorn, relax and watch a good movie under the stars.”

Another downtown Scottsdale bar, Mickey's Hangover, was the first nightspot to start movie nights last year, followed by Scottsdale's Dos Gringos.

While both bars have since discontinued movie nights, Scottsdale lounge Drinx and Tempe's Ra Sushi Bar have joined the club. Drinx kicked off its martini-and-movie night late last month, while Ra debuted its martial-arts-themed film night earlier this month.

“I think places are looking for new ways to entertain and bring in people in,” says J-Bar customer Sand, 24, of Tempe. “And this is just one way to do that.”

“Mondays are typically slow,” says Drinx assistant manager Tom Jonovich. “I figured as long as we were slow we'd keep the staff entertained as well. We didn't have the biggest crowd, but we doubled our sales from previous Mondays when we started this.”

In addition to offering half-off martinis, Drinx shows flicks such as “Dodgeball,” “Caddyshack,” “Blazing Saddles” and “Spaceballs.” Jonovich predicts that the movie night trend won't last if everyone jumps on the bandwagon.

“I think if everyone starts doing it people will start moving to another thing,” he says. “I think we'll see rotating trends. And this is just one of them right now.”

Movie Nights

J-Bar in the James Hotel, J-Bar in the James HotelRoad, Scottsdale,
When: 7 p.m. Sundays
Specials: Complimentary flavored popcorn
Admission: Free
What's showing Sunday: “The Exorcist”
March 6: “Fargo”
March 13: “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”
March 20: “Clerks”

Drinx, 7330 E. Stetson Drive, Scottsdale,
When: 8 p.m. Mondays
Specials: Half-price martinis
Admission: Free
What's showing Monday: Call for movies playing every week.

Ra Sushi Bar, 411 S. Mill Ave., Tempe,
When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays
Specials: Sushi specials such as $7.50 King Kong rolls and $10 Godzilla rolls and $4 to $7 Skyy cocktails
Admission: Free
What's showing Tuesday: “Sonny Chiba” and “The Bodyguard”
March 8 “Legend of 8 Samurai” and “Shogun's Ninja”