A Guide to Watching Movies in NYC
Metrograph theater
A Guide to New York City’s Movie Theaters
I love New York City. I love watching movies. NYC is a fantastic place for watching movies. I don’t know if I would love film as much as I do or even be the person I am if I didn’t have the privilege of living in NYC.
Ever since I was in middle school and going to Times Square’s AMC every weekend, buying 1 ticket, and sneaking in to watch 2 other movies, movies have been my favorite way to escape. A momentary way to float away and visit a world where my troubles weighed less heavy on me.
So, from a teenage me to now, I’ve seen plenty of great movies, many mediocre movies and some very bad movies in this amazing city. I’ve learned that regardless of if I’m stepping out of a good or bad movie, I want the experience of being in the theater to be the most comfortable.
Here are my thoughts on some of NYC’s theaters in the hopes that I’ll guide you to your optimal theater-going experience:
*Notes:
- Due to my home location in Brooklyn, I rarely travel to uptown Manhattan or to north Brooklyn so my choices are focused on downtown.
- It goes against my entire being to buy overpriced concessions at any movie theater so none of my reviews take concessions into account. Most theaters won’t check bags so I sneak my own food in.
- Film Selection criteria is based on my own taste of movies.
PC’s Top 6 NYC Movie Theaters
In front of Metrograph’s concession stand of popcorn, pocky and other treats
Metrograph
Angelika Center
IFC Center
Quad Cinema
AMC Village 7
Lincoln Center
1) METROGRAPH
Area: Chinatown, Manhattan
Price: $17
Seating: Reserved seating, Mid-comfort seats,
Utilities: Clean & stylish bathrooms (my favorite theater bathroom), Water foundations
Ambience: Calm, Relaxed
Film Selection: Great - indie arthouse movies, international movies,
Extras: Frequent Q&As with filmmakers, Commissionary & Bookstore above
If you asked me which theater feels most like one for movie lovers and filmmakers, it would be Metrograph. With its stylish decor of white wooden paneling, candlelit lighting at night, red velvet seats, Metrograph feels classy without being snobby. Metrograph is my favorite theater because it provides everything I need (clean bathrooms & good movies is all I really require) amazingly while making me feel welcome.
Metrograph’s curation of movies might be my favorite in NYC. There are the popular indie directors whose movies frequent the theater - Wes Anderson, Terrance Malick, Claire Denis - beside a variety of movies from different countries, decades, genres, and perspectives. I’m not knowledgeable enough in film to give Metrograph’s great film curation the description it deserves but I can say that I’m thankful for how the theater is always there to expand my movie viewing. I’ll never forget their series celebrating Haitian films. To see films from Haitian perspectives and then hearing directly from the filmmakers afterward was amazing.
2) ANGELIKA CENTER
Area: Soho, Manhattan
Price: $20
Seating: Reserved seating, Comfy seats,
Utilities: Moderately clean bathrooms, No water foundations
Ambience: Fine - generally feels busy but not overwhelmingly so
Film Selection: Good - indie movies, mostly USA
Extras: Frequent Q&As with filmmakers, Cafe
Angelika Center is a good movie theater that I can always rely on it to fulfill my needs. The film selection is good with plenty of indie movies from US and internationally.
3) IFC CENTER
Area: West 4th/Greenwich Village, Manhattan
Price: $18
Seating: No reserved seating, Mid-comfort seats,
Utilities: Moderately clean bathrooms, Water foundation with cups downstairs
Ambience: Nice
Film Selection: Good - indie movies, international movies,
Extras: Frequent Q&As with filmmakers,
Reliable movie theater with a good selection of indie movies with frequent series on Old Hollywood and Studio Ghibli movies. IFC is worth making the trip to for its great location in Greenwich Village. My idea of a perfect day would be walking through Washington Square Park, eating from an East Village restaurant, devouring pastries from the wonderful FayDa bakery next door, and then watching a movie at IFC.
4) QUAD CINEMA
Area: Union Square/Greenwich Village, Manhattan
Price: $17
Seating: No reserved seating, Comfy seats,
Utilities: Clean bathrooms, Water foundations
Ambience: Quiet
Film Selection: Good - indie arthouse movies, international movies,
Extras: Q&As with filmmakers, Bar
Quad’s selection of movies frequently don’t call to to me but I always wish I visited the theater more. The theater’s screens are smaller than most but the design is so sleek and clean, it just feels nice to be in Quad. The film selection is interesting with international films and arthouse films. I like a few of their series, especially those focused on old LGBTQ fims and actors like Anthony Banderas.
Village East Cinema
5) AMC VILLAGE 7
Area: East Village, Manhattan
Price: $19-22
Seating: Reserved seating, Recliner comfy seats,
Utilities: Moderately clean bathrooms, Water foundations
Ambience: Fine - generally feels busy but not overwhelmingly so
Film Selection: Good - Mainstream movies, Blockbusters
I love watching movies from Hollywood’s major studios as well as indies so if I’m seeing a mainstream movie, I always want it to be this AMC theater. Even when the movie is bad, I can at least have the comfort of sitting in a plush recliner seat and walking out of a not so busy movie theater.
6) FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER
Area: Columbus Circle, Manhattan
Price: $15
Seating: No reserved seating, Comfy seats
Utilities: Moderately clean bathrooms, Little to no signal, WiFi is provided upon entering your email
Ambience: Calm
Film Selection: Great - Indie USA movies, International movies
Extras: Student Discount, Q&As with filmmakers, Cafe
Lincoln Center is prestigious in spotlighting cinema from USA and internationally. Their retrospectives on acclaimed filmmakers have been a great way to introduce me to a variety of movies.
The best place for movies in NYC is the area from Chelsea - East Village - Soho. There are many theaters within a 30 minute distance from each other screening blockbusters, indies, and more.
More:
9) VILLAGE CINEMA
Area: Union Square/NYU, Manhattan
Price: $17
Seating: No reserved seating, Mid-comfort seats
Utilities: Moderately clean bathrooms,
Ambience: Quiet
Film Selection: Okay - indie USA movies, arthouse movies
8) VILLAGE EAST CINEMA
Area: East Village, Manhattan
Price: $17
Seating: No reserved seating, Mid-comfort seats
Utilities: Moderately clean bathrooms, No water foundations
Ambience: Calm
Film Selection: Good - mainstream movies, indie USA movies, international movies,
Extras: Student Discount,
11) MUSEUM OF MOVING IMAGE
Area: Astoria, Queens
Price: $15
Seating: No reserved seating, Comfy seats
Utilities: Moderately clean bathrooms,
Ambience: Sleek, Quiet
Film Selection: Great - indie USA movies, mainstream movies, international movies
10) MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
Area: Midtown Manhattan
Price: $15
Seating: No reserved seating, Mid-comfort seats
Utilities: Clean bathrooms, Water foundations
Ambience: Quiet
Film Selection: Great - indie USA movies, international movies
14) ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES
Area: Noho, Manhattan
Price: $15
Seating: No reserved seating, Mid-comfort seats
Utilities: Moderately clean bathrooms
Ambience: Quiet, Calm
Film Selection: Okay - independent, experimental, avant-garde movies
13) BAM
Area: Atlantic Barclays Center, Brooklyn
Price: $17
Seating: No reserved seating, Okay seats
Utilities: Moderately clean bathrooms,
Ambience: Fine - generally feels busy but not overwhelmingly so
Film Selection: Great - indie USA movies, mainstream movies
Extras: Cafe
16) REGAL UNION SQUARE
Area: Union Square, Manhattan
Price: $19
Seating: No reserved seating, Mid-comfort seats
Utilities: Moderately clean bathrooms, Water foundations
Ambience: Busy, Crowded
Film Selection: Good - mainstream movies, indie USA movies
I don’t like Regal theaters very much. Regal offers convenient locations if I don’t want to go to an uptown AMC for smaller mainstream movies. Fandango provides booking for a specific seat but on multiple occasions, I’ve been told there is no reserved seating.
15) ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE
Area: Downtown Brooklyn
Price: $18
Seating: Reserved seating, Recliner comfy seats
Utilities: Clean bathrooms,
Ambience: Nice
Film Selection: Good - mainstream movies, indie USA movies
Extras: Customized food menus for popular movies
Alamo is nice if you want to make going to see a movie more of an outing or date. The theater is located inside of a mall (the gentrification of Brooklyn…sigh) so there’s the option of doing some shopping before getting full Almao dinner delivered to your seat. Alamo has a strict policy about not being late more than 10 minutes and no phones during the movie.
17) AMC 25
Area: Times Square, Manhattan
Price: $18 - $22
Seating: Reserved seating, Comfy seats
Utilities: Unclean bathrooms, Water foundations don’t work, Little to no signal,
Ambience: Busy, Crowded
Film Selection: Okay - mainstream movies, international movies
AMC 25 is the worst movie theater in NYC. The location is in the middle of the hellhole that is Times Square so there’s always crowds of bustling tourists to pass through. There’s no accessible LTE or WiFi so I can’t even scroll online during the 5 minutes it takes to get through the many escalators to the higher level theaters. Watching a movie at AMC 25 is a big headache I never want to experience but I sometimes endure it for the movies from East, South, and Southeast Asia they often screen.
18 - 22) AMC 19TH ST, AMC KIPS BAY, AMC 34TH ST, CINEPOLIS CHELSEA, AMC LINCOLN SQUARE 13,
Area: Chelsea to Flatiron up to 66th st, Manhattan
Price: $18 - $22
Seating: Reserved seating, Comfy seats
Utilities: Moderately clean bathrooms, Water foundations sometimes don’t work
Ambience: Busy, Crowded
Film Selection: Okay - mainstream movies, international movies
AMC 19’s recliner seats are heated and only go halfway which makes for an uncomfortable experience. AMC Kips Bay is spacious and clean. AMC 34th st and Cinepolis Chelsea have the occasional Asian film screening. AMC Lincoln Square is crowded and the bathrooms are gross.