General (Details 1) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 29, 2018	Mar. 30, 2017
Numerator:
Net earnings attributable to The Marcus Corporation	$ 9,821	$ 9,453
Denominator:
Denominator for basic EPS	27,895	27,708
Effect of dilutive employee stock options	539	675
Denominator for diluted EPS	28,434	28,383
Common Stock [Member]
Net earnings per share - basic:
Common Stock	$ 0.36	$ 0.35
Net earnings per share - diluted:
Common Stock	0.35	0.33
Class B Common Stock [Member]
Net earnings per share - basic:
Common Stock	0.33	0.32
Net earnings per share - diluted:
Common Stock	$ 0.32	$ 0.31