Document and Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	May 31, 2012	Nov. 24, 2011	Aug. 06, 2012 Common Stock	Aug. 06, 2012 Class B Common Stock
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	May 31, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	MCS
Entity Registrant Name	MARCUS CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0000062234
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--05-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding			20,168,321	8,777,714
Entity Public Float		$ 232,806,997