The 12 Best Movie Theaters in New York City
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The best movie theaters in New York City remind us why it’s worth the effort to dress yourself, make the commute, and get fleeced for popcorn at the concessions stand—despite the convenience of streaming services just a few taps away at home. While Hollywood is the place with a reputation for moviemaking magic, New York is the best place to actually see a picture. Why? New Yorkers bring film to life by watching and gabbing about them before and after a visit to one of the city's distinct theaters. From the buzz and murmurs that fill the lobby at Metrograph before and after a screening to the blocks around Lincoln Center in crisp fall when New York Film Festival takes over, moviegoing is in the air here, and the spirit is infectious. Whether you’re looking for a bone-rattling blockbuster or a teeny foreign picture only playing here, we’ve compiled our picks for the best movie theaters in New York City.
Read our complete New York City guide here, which includes:
Ben Michel/UnsplashactivityLincoln Center
In addition to the live programming that earns Lincoln Center its prestige—opera, theatre, dance, symphonies, and so on, all well worth seeing—this iconic center for the arts boasts robust film programming that encompasses repertory screenings as well as first runs of limited releases. The two theaters are modern and eminently comfortable, with deep bench seating in orange leather in one screening room and recliners in the other, and you can grab menu items from the adjoining Café Paridiso, which has a counter in the lobby, to sate you through the runtime. Also worth noting at this venue? New York Film Festival, which typically runs every year from late September to early October, and takes over some of Lincoln Center's more storied venues like Alice Tully Hall and Walter Reade with appearances from filmmakers and stars.
Jeremy Liebman/Courtesy MetrographactivityMetrograph Theater
Located on Ludlow Street in the Lower East Side, Metrograph is an independent movie house and a New York City cinema destination. When you walk in, you’ll notice that the decor is trendy, artsy, and has almost nothing in common with an AMC. You might overhear film buffs opining on French directors you never heard of, but hey, it’s all part of the charm. It shows a curated roster of films that includes exclusive archival screenings, special premiers, and Q&As with notable filmmakers. Bonus: The legitimate restaurant on site called the Metrograph Commissary serving brunch and dinner, where movie-goers can extend their outing with a meal or a round of drinks. You won’t find your typical movie theater slushies here—espresso martinis, steak tartare, and duck with rosemary are on the menu.
Courtesy Peter Aaron/EstoactivityMuseum of the Moving Image
There's so much to do in Astoria that, should you make your way all the way out there, it may be difficult to convince you that seeing a movie is one of the essentials. But you'll see that the effort's worthwhile after poking your head into the Museum of the Moving Image, a celebration of cinema so joyfully educational that this writer copped a ticket to a film he'd already seen (the fabulous Passages, for they play new releases in addition to a schedule of repertory screenings) just to stick around a little longer. The moviegoing experience here is wonderful, with the theaters comfortable and clean, with the added perk of permanent exhibits upstairs taking visitors through how exactly movies are made in the first place.
Museum of the City of New York/GettyactivityQuad Cinema
Quad Cinema exists with stunning success between the worlds of old-school movie theater and modern comfort extravaganza. The seats are upright but quite plush, many of them a bold red. The spaces are sleek, they're clean. The concessions stand is stocked and there's a full bar that serves orange wine. Most importantly, the programming is fabulously unpredictable—a blockbuster might be playing in one theater, the Spanish indie that introduced Penelope Cruz to the world thirty years ago in another, and a random collection of movies also not really playing anywhere else in the rest. It's just wonderful and reliable, always a consummate experience in the no man's land of Union Square.
Robert K. Chin/AlamyactivityFilm Forum
This is the last independent, nonprofit cinema in New York City. Little has changed about this humble, unpretentious theater since it first opened in 1970 as a screening space for independent films—there's the big marquee outside, lighting up an otherwise quiet stretch of West Houston; a ticket booth with microphone and glass partition; and a red carpet underfoot. It's retro without feeling dated, a warm place out of time. Behind the concessions counter, by the way, are some very nice people selling some very good espresso and baked goods (try the cakes carrot and orange bundt) in addition to regular sodas and candies. From new and obscure cinema made outside the US to a dazzling assortment of global classics that has most recently included Midnight Cowboy and Le Samourai, you can rest assured that every last thing on the marquee is worth a few hours of your time.
Courtesy Roxy HotelhotelRoxy Cinema New York
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Readers' Choice Awards 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022Formerly known as the Tribeca Grand, the Roxy Hotel is hard to miss with its retro-style movie theater marquee entrance. Public spaces sport a new yet very vintage vibe. The screening room itself is a cozy 118-seater with plush velvet curtains and a ceiling fit with Broadway lights. If the Art Deco trappings aren’t enough to transport you to the old school days of going to the theater, then the programming of first-run independent films, rare archival prints, and 35mm cult classics are sure to take you back through the scenic route. Moviegoers headed to, say, 1930s films mixed to Radiohead deep cuts can get pleasantly lost in the rest of the hotel’s nightlife and social scene offerings afterwards, which include a jazz club and cocktail lounge.
GettyactivityIFC Center
This arthouse cinema is owned by AMC Networks (no affiliation with the theater chain of the same name) as a tangible outpost of cable's Independent Film Channel and the affiliated IFC Films production and distribution company. What you'll screen here, unsurprisingly, are independent films new and old. It's got one of the most well-known marquees in the whole city, a happy fluorescent triangle reaching out over a subway exit for the bustling West 4th Street stop, and Papaya Dog rounds out the block. It's an unfussy movie experience where you'd be hard-pressed to see the same film twice, so varied and inventive is the programming. And the people watching is unmatched.
Courtesy Brooklyn Academy of MusicactivityBrooklyn Academy of Music
The Brooklyn Academy of Music has been around for over 150 years at this point, offering a litany of arts programming across a smattering of buildings within its Fort Greene campus—theatre, dance performance, blah blah. In 1998, film programming joined the party with the opening of the Rose Cinemas: four theaters, the smaller two downstairs with vaster options on the second level. This is not a cushy movie theater—no recliners, no dine in. It's old-school, with upright upholstered seats and a concessions stand offering popcorn, candy, soda, and (now) wine and beer. It's a lot of people's neighborhood theater, which is meaningful anywhere but especially in such a vibrant artistic nexus, so plopping down with this crowd always feels special.
M.J. O'Toole/NetflixactivityThe Paris Theater
Paris is the archetype of a New York City arthouse theater. After all, it is the original. Established in 1948 by Pathé, the theater was the first in the country to screen Romeo and Juliet, A Room With a View, and Belle de Jour, among other gems in the international cinema. Sitting off the lower right corner of Central Park, Paris rubs elbows with Fifth Avenue darlings like the Plaza Hotel and the Bergdorf Goodman Building. Its relatively minimal Art Moderne design stands out amongst the neighborhood's rhythm of windows set in white marble, and Paris is wearing its age well. After Netflix purchased the theater in 2019 to serve as the studio's New York flagship, Paris carries the air of a landmark that is one-of-a-kind rather than one of a dying breed: it is Manhattan's last standing single-screen cinema, and with 535 seats, it's also the borough's largest movie theater. This is the kind of place where size matters—the theater hosts year-round programming filled with special events, retrospectives, and filmmaker appearances, where the momentum of the crowd is a key ingredient.
Kenneth Grant/AlamyactivityAnthology Film Archives
The exterior of the Anthology Film Archives parallels the spirit of the films they screen—a little out of place and of a different time. Originally opened in 1970, the cinema evolved beyond the vision of its founders who wished for the space, “to define the art of cinema by means of a selection of films which would screen continuously,” a tight canon they deemed, “the Essential Cinema collection.” Today, the cinema also houses a library and museum filled with stills, periodicals, and theory books galore on avant-garde film. With the theater portion screening more than 900 programs annually, even the most zealous fanatics can get their fill here. If you’re into the zany, weird, and absurd, you just found just the theater-museum-library to match your freak.
Noam Galai/GettyactivityAMC Lincoln Square 13
If you're looking for ribcage-shaking Dolby Atmos sound and the biggest IMAX screen in the country (measuring in at 75.6 feet tall and 101 feet wide), the AMC at Lincoln Square is the king of the city's big chain theaters. The theater is a fun matinee excursion for families, fit with head-sized Icees cups, viral popcorn buckets, and wonderfully crisp 70 mm projection. As is the policy at every AMC theater in the country, tickets for screenings prior to 4 p.m. have 25% taken off the evening price, making a day at the theater one of the best-value things to do in the city. If your crew is hungry afterwards, the theater also places moviegoers near some great crowdpleasers—Magnolia Bakery is just one block up, and Parm's Upper West Side location is just another.
activityAngelika Film Center & Cafe
You go to the original Angelika—as pretentious as it may sound—for the love of film, its history, the whole shebang of the moviegoing ritual, warts, and all. Sure, you’ll hear the rumble of the nearby subway lines beneath whispered dialogue, and the subterranean layout might leave some wanting for air, but where else are you going to get a kimchi dog to pair with that Romanian indie from the 80s? The real highlight of this theater is their special programming, which regularly welcomes film history to walk their narrow aisles. Filmmakers, directors, and ensemble casts often drop in for panels and q&a’s that feel more like intimate fireside chats than PR interviews.
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