The Dude will abide at Studio 35 on Indianola Avenue Sunday.

The movie theater will celebrate its fourth annual Dude-A-Thon, a tribute to “The Big Lebowski,” the 1998 Coen Brothers comedy involving an unemployed Southern Californian slacker who gets caught in a case of mistaken identity, and then becomes wrapped up in a faux kidnapping.

It's been 14 years since “The Big Lebowski” was released in theaters, and it has since become a cult classic. The character portrayed by the enigmatic Jeff Bridges has transcended from lazy ex-hippie to cultural icon.

The theater screens “The Big Lebowski” annually, and in previous years, the screenings have coincided with a beer tasting.

“We do beer tastings in September until the end of spring and into January,” said Casey Costello, who has worked at Studio 35 for the past eight years.

Several years ago, Bell’s Brewery (located in Kalamazoo, Mich.) brought their microbrews, and the theater screened the movie.

“That turned out to be our most popular tasting (that year,)” Costello said.

In January 2009, the Dude-A-Thon was born.

“Two years ago is when it started to become really big,” Costello said.

“We'll be showing the movie Friday and Saturday night (at 11:30 p.m.),” said Eric Brembeck, who is the co-owner of Studio 35 along with his wife, Rita Valpi.

But Sunday night is the main event, when Walters and Donnys will bowl, and Dudes will mix white Russians. The movie will be shown at 5:30 p.m.

The occasion will include a costume contest and participants can play Wii Bowling on a big screen. A half-size bowling lane will be set up in the theater for anyone who wants to try their hand at the Dude's favorite pastime.

Kahlua will also be available for anyone who wants a White Russian, the favored beverage of The Dude.

“And we'll be giving stuff away,” Brembeck said.

Entrants to the costume contest have dressed up as Walter, Donny, Jesus and of course, the Dude himself.

“Typically it’s those four,” Costello said.

But he added, “We even had a guy dress up as the other Lebowski,” referring to the wheelchair-bound millionaire for whom The Dude is mistaken. “He had a wheelchair and everything.”

“We haven’t had anyone dress up as Maude yet,” Brembeck said. “Maybe we’ll have one this year.”

Studio 35 sells tickets to the Dude-A-Thon in advance, and it typically sells out several months beforehand, studio staff said.

Costello equates the event’s success to the movie’s strong cult following.

“We’ve always taken customer input,” he said. “We look for things we can do better.”