General (Details 1) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 29, 2016	Sep. 24, 2015	Sep. 29, 2016	Sep. 24, 2015
Numerator:
Net earnings attributable to The Marcus Corporation	$ 14,372	$ 10,871	$ 29,160	$ 23,125
Denominator:
Denominator for basic EPS	27,574	27,588	27,522	27,523
Effect of dilutive employee stock options	427	310	343	318
Denominator for diluted EPS	28,001	27,898	27,865	27,841
Common Stock [Member]
Net earnings per share - Basic:
Common Stock	$ 0.54	$ 0.41	$ 1.09	$ 0.87
Net earnings per share- Diluted:
Common Stock	0.51	0.39	1.05	0.83
Class B Common Stock [Member]
Net earnings per share - Basic:
Common Stock	0.49	0.37	0.99	0.78
Net earnings per share- Diluted:
Common Stock	$ 0.48	$ 0.37	$ 0.98	$ 0.78