A Definitive Ranking of New York City’s AMC Theaters
Straight from the A-lister's mouth.
I am nothing if not a proud member of the AMC Stubs A-List program. I shell out $24.99 a month to have the chance to see three movies per week. I proudly enter the A-List and AMC investor line (yes, I also own 2 shares of $AMC.) I smile each Friday morning when AMC emails me to let me know that my reservations have reset and I can, once again, book three movies.
After holding A-List status for over a year, I have finally conquered all of New York City’s AMC theaters. I’ve seen Nicole Kidman grace the screen with her “we come to this place” monologue at nine separate locations in the city. Now, the time has come to rank NYC’s AMCs. Note that the number at the end of each theater’s name corresponds to its number of screens.
AMC 34th Street 14
Down the street from Penn Station sits 34th St. AMC 14. With five floors, 34th St. is the second tallest AMC in the city, coming in only behind AMC Empire 25. However, neither the escalators nor the 14 screens feel overwhelming. At no point does 34th St. feel too big.
Each theater has recliners. Not “plush rockers,” but tried and true recliners. The seats, which are staggered in a stadium-like fashion so that no head in front of you blocks your view, allow you to kick back and relax—and warm up your tuckus with multiple heat settings. You can catch a movie in Dolby, sort-of IMAX (see a further explanation in my roast of AMC Empire 25), or laser projections, giving you a plethora of options. With fourteen screens, 34th St. offers plenty of movies, almost guaranteeing that there will be something you’re looking to watch.
The theater’s biggest flaw is its bathroom layout. Seriously, how hard is it to put a bathroom on every floor?
AMC Harlem Magic Johnson 9
Harlem Magic Johnson holds a special place in my heart. It became my designated movie theater after I moved to the city, beginning when I saw the ever-so-hyped Barbenheimer double feature. The theater was a mere three stops away on the subway, allowing me to show up with near perfect timing and no fear of missing the start of a film. I spent a harsh winter tucked away inside this AMC.
The seats may not be recliners, but they’re plenty comfortable. The seating arrangement, like 34th St., is staggered in a bleacher-like fashion. The screens themselves are large, and there’s a fantastic Dolby Theater where I was forever changed while watching Challengers. Harlem Magic Johnson is rife with charming large posters of old releases. Inside the women’s bathroom, there’s an adorable painting of a dog reading a newspaper.
If Harlem Magic Johnson had an IMAX screen—and if I still lived down the street—it would most likely be my favorite AMC in the city.
AMC Lincoln Square 13
There is perhaps no movie experience quite like watching a flick at the IMAX screen at AMC Lincoln Square. Traveling up to the top floor (which does not feel like a pilgrimage compared to other theaters) induces a rush of adrenaline: you’re about to see a movie on one of the biggest and best screens in the country.
Lincoln Sq.’s IMAX introduction asks you to “be a part of the movie,” and no descriptor is better. I’ve seen both Oppenheimer and Dune: Part Two twice in this theater. I’ve never experienced a watch quite like a showing on this IMAX screen, and for that, Lincoln Sq. sits at the third spot on this list.
The “normal” theaters boast charming aesthetics outside of each screen, but these quirky displays do not make up for the lackluster interior. Most of the seats are rickety, ugly, and uncomfortable with deteriorating cupholders. The seating style is essentially flat, so if a tall person sits in front of you, you’re screwed. Lincoln Sq.’s Dolby Theater also features a not-so-darling balcony. I’ve never sat on the top level, but I can imagine it makes for a bizarre viewing experience.
AMC Kips Bay 15
My singular trip to Kips Bay was a breeze. It’s simple to navigate and easy to find a bathroom. Stadium seating and recliners make for pleasant and comfortable showtimes. The concession lines are laid out somewhat weirdly, but the popcorn is actually salty. The internet claims that this theater is filled with rats and mice, but I was lucky enough to dodge the rodents at my basement-level showing.
Kips Bay lacks a Dolby theater, a true IMAX screen, and laser projections, leaving only digital showings and a “LieMAX” (see more below) to choose from. Additionally, it’s a bit of a pain to get to as it’s a bit of a hike from the nearest subway station. However, comfortable seats, a reasonable layout, and 15 screens boost this theater’s ranking.
AMC East 19th St. 6
East 19th St. is best described as cute. With only six theaters, it’s endearing. Despite its small size, it still has a MacGuffins Bar where guests can pick up wine, beer, or a cocktail before heading into their movie. You’ll also find heated recliners and spacious seating in each theater.
There’s not much to say about East 19t. St., which is a compliment in itself. Selfishly, its proximity to my apartment also puts it in my top five AMCs.
AMC Village 7
AMC Village is essentially East 19th St., but with more NYU students, an additional screen, a bit more chaos, and fewer cocktails. Village 7 also tends to take a longer time to switch out their features, making it fairly useless at times. For example, the theater was showing Deadpool and Wolverine, which premiered in late July, in mid-October.
AMC 84th St. 6
It may be unfair to rank 84th St. 6 so low on the list given that I’ve only attended one movie at the theater, at 11:00 a.m. nonetheless, but it was an unremarkable experience. Like AMC Village 7, it has a slower rotation of movies, leaving frequent movie-goers at a loss. The theater has recliners and decent sized screens, both of which are wins in my book, but the concession stand was a complete flop. When I entered the theater, I couldn’t tell if there was anyone to scan my ticket or feed me delicious, buttery popcorn. 84th St. may have climbed higher in my rankings should I have seen more than Imaginary, but now that I live 35 minutes away, it has plummeted down to the seventh spot on this list
8. AMC Empire 25
Sitting smack in the middle of Times Square isn’t AMC Empire’s biggest flaw. Its best feature is, unfortunately, the reason it sits near the bottom of my list: 25 screens. This mighty number allows the theater to show an impressive array of movies, but because Empire has such a large number of screens, it is unreasonably tall. Attending a movie on the top floor requires taking endless escalators that stretch to unfathomable heights. Empire was once named the busiest theater in America, and you can tell. With an Applebee’s and a Dave & Busters in the same building, Empire 25 may have been doomed from the start.
Empire has both Dolby and IMAX features. However, the IMAX screen is what movie-goers have dubbed a “LieMAX,” meaning that it is a fraction of the size of a true IMAX screen and lacks the same video quality. It may be unfair to criticize this LieMAX when other theaters have the same deceptive feature, but only Empire is an ungodly maze to navigate.
AMC Orpheum 7
Before I visited Orpheum, I thought Empire was the most confusing movie-labyrinth in the city. Orpheum is a mess of hidden stairs and escalators, leading you to a somewhat dingy set of theaters all congregated on the bottom floor. The concessions are behind the ticket takers, but hidden slightly out of sight. I took a trip downstairs, saw that the second concession stand was closed, and headed back to the top floor to ask where I could get some popcorn. A nice lady filled up my bucket and was very patient when my A-list barcode wasn’t working, but this did not make up for the travesty of navigating to my seat.
Even with a flashlight, it was impossible to determine which alphabetized row was which. I didn't even sit in my assigned seat! The seats are old and flimsy; the cup holders are the horrendous plastic kind. Orpheum has neither a Dolby theater nor an IMAX (or LieMax) screen, leaving viewers to only see flicks in laser. This theater is confusing, stale, and, officially, my least favorite AMC in New York City.
Despite my criticisms of certain theaters, each AMC in the city is a safe space for me to kick back and enjoy the art of cinema. I love the familiarity of it all. At AMC theaters, I truly feel at home away from home. And that feeling? In the words of Nicole Kidman, that’s magic.