EVG photo from 2022
Updated 1 p.m.: A petition has been filed to save the theater, which is set to close so NYU hospitals can expand.
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East Village theatergoers will soon have one less choice for catching a movie nearby.
The AMC Kips Bay 15 will close at the end of the year, Variety reports. The 15-screen multiplex on Second Avenue at 31st Street is AMC's second-largest theater in Manhattan.
An AMC spokesperson said the closure is "following the property owner's decision to exercise its contractual right to terminate the theatre's lease before its scheduled expiration."
While the Kips Bay programming leans heavily toward the latest Hollywood blockbusters, the theater has often tossed a few indie and specialty releases into the mix — making it a useful alternative to the East Village's movie houses.
The multiplex opened in 1999; AMC took it over in 2006.
12 comments:
I’m so bummed by this news. I’ve been going to this movie theater location for years, especially for their IMAX screenings. For me, the location was ideal especially since Fairway is right next-door and I could always pick up some needed groceries after catching a show before heading back home.
SO SAD To read this is closing!
Ah, the only reason to visit Kips Bay.
Sad news.
Yup. Sad News. My occasional blockbuster viewings were always at Kips Bay. Nice walk. Nice theater.
One would have to assume that Fairway is the next to go. I think that's the last tenant left.
Uhm, possible teardown?
It was doubly perfect when the Waterfront Ale House was on the corner. A forgotten classic
Agreed! We miss Waterfront Ale House too, for a bite and a sip afterwards and dissecting / discussing whatever movie we'd just seen!
NYU Medical has been gobbling up Private Practices and any other viable real estate to expand their For Profit Health Care Business Model. Look at who is on the Board of Directors.
Sad, but to keep it a bit EV, there used to be a different theatre in that space in the 80s, before that entire block was renovated.
Yes! The Kips Bay Theatre opened in 1962 ... It closed in 1994 and was later demolished with the surrounding strip mall to make way for today’s AMC Kips Bay 15.
"The 1966 surf documentary The Endless Summer famously premiered in New York City at the Kips Bay Theater at 520 Second Avenue, where filmmaker Bruce Brown personally rented the venue to launch its mainstream success.The Kips Bay RunThe Gamble: After Hollywood distributors turned down the film, Bruce Brown paid cash in advance to lease the Kips Bay Theater in Manhattan.The Success: Initially planning for a short run, the weekend-after-weekend sellouts led Brown to extend the booking into a historic 48-week engagement.The Aftermath: The massive independent success at Kips Bay proved the film had a mainstream audience, leading to a national distribution deal with Cinema V and turning the documentary into a $20 million global phenomenon."
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