Loews State 4
1540 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
1540 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
17 people
favorited this theater
Showing 151 - 175 of 177 comments
Mikeoaklandpark,
No a new marquee was not added. Just a change in the signage, basically all the old neon was taken off and a new big plastic sign that says “Loews Theatres” over the loews logo was put up instead, it’s now clearly visible as opposed to the old one, which you could hardly make out. The new sign is the same basic size and shape of the old one.
Nobody answered my post from 9/24.Have they added a marquee to the front of the Loews State?
I tried going to Loews State yesterday to see “The Manchurian Canditate”. The ticket lady told me they are no longer selling $5 tickets. They are all now $10. Say it ain’t so!!! On the bright side, I found a theater in Queens that sells tickets for $5. The Kew Gardens Cinema in Kew Gardens, Queens. This movie theater shows mostly independent films but once in a while they show a major film on its last run. E,F trains to Kew Gardens/Union Turnpike.
The Worldwide, from what I was told by someone who went there regularly, did bang-up business during the weekends but was a ghost town Mondays through Thursdays. While first-run multiplexes can survive under those circumstances, it’s that much more difficult for a second-run house to hold on, especially for one that’s Manhattan-based.
Does anybody know if they have changed the front anymore since the other day?
Worldwide just re-opened as a 5 stage off Broadway Theatre.
The Worldwide did well during it’s last stage as a discount house for Cineplex. The presentations at the State 4 are some of the poorest, I’ve ever seen in any city.
Does anyone know how the grosses were on Worldwide? Seemed when I went there they had pretty full houses. I’m suprised as a discount house this place dont fill up. The total problem is that nobody knows it'as there. Could you imagine a times square marquee showing two week old information. Just proves the sad part movie exhibition as we knew it is DEAD.
If they put a regular marquee that may help them. Time will tell.
Well when the State 4 runs special engagements like Indian films, they charged regular admission prices even when they were a discount house. And if you see the other feature on two screens was “Resident Evil: Apocalypse” and “Wicker Park” (one showing a day). They just dumping films that they had planned to open at the Astor Plaza, like “Resident Evil…”. Because that company bought out the lease early. Loew’s still had contracts to open films at the Astor. So to keep the studio happy, they got a Times Square location for the opening, plus screens at the 42nd Street E-Walk.
I don’t think Loew’s would put any real money back into that house, when thay are going to drop it soon. They did not put any money into fixing the old marquee and to teach management how to program
it. Management had films that played there still listed that had played there weeks earlier. They are just using the State as a place to fulfill some of their contract comittments from the recently closed Astor Plaza Theatre.
I went to Loews web site and they are showing the State as a first run house now not a discount theater. Maybe they are going to put a regular marquee.
They removed all the neon from the old sign all together. And replaced it with one of those plastic type banners. Its alittle smaller then the old signage. It does not even say Loews State Theatre, just Loews Theatres.
William – does the new signage consist of a plastic banner over the old neon display? Is it an all-new illuminated sign? Is it the same size as the old neon display?
Loew’s just changed the signage in front of the theatre. They took down the bright neon signs that said Loews. And now they have replaced it with a semi-temp signage, that says Loews Theatres and their logo. That could be a major sign about the theatres future.
Maybe Loews took into consideration my nasty letter to them when they abrubtly closed the Astor Plaza. I told them that they should consdier using the State as a first run theater and not let it sit empty.
Since this is really a new theatre, should there be a seperate page for the late great Loews State?
The Loews State is apparently the new Astor Plaza, at least in the eyes of distributors and Loews itself – ‘Resident Evil 2: Apocalypse’ is opening on 2 screens at the State today, concurrently with its engagement at the E-Walk on 42nd Street. (It’s also the first major studio initial-run engagement at the State since ‘The Bone Collector’ ran there for a week in November of 1999, prior to its moving to the E-Walk for that theatre’s grand opening.)
Unfortunately this theatre was doomed from the start. It opened nine years after the original Loew’s State was closed. You could hardly make out from the sign outside to let you know there was a movie theatre inside the Virgin Megastore, you had to go down two retail levels in order to even get to the box office. It was opened as a quad when in today’s movie going economy the more screens the better. And it just missed the stadium seating craze that enveloped theatres in the late 90’s. Loews cineplex tried to unload this property a few years back, nobody wanted it and with good reason. One just has to look at the other Virgin Megastore in Union Square to see a successful Theatre, The UA Union Square 14 (Now Regal) opened it 1998 a mere two years after the State, it has its own entrance, 14 screens with stadium seating (first in NYC) and digital surround sound and it makes a ton on money.
Yes, but is this theater a classic?? I could see if it were the original Loews State but it seemds it is not. It is a theater built in 96 so it was a multiplex all along?? Am i wrong?
The Loews State theater is due to close its door 1 year after the Loews Astor Plaza, which closes in three weeks August 5, 2004.
So by next August Loews Stste will be gone forever.
Alas, the closing of the cineplex seems unavoidable. I will miss it THOROUGHLY! Working in midtown, it became very convienent for me to catch a bollywood flic there right after work, once or twice a week. But what can we expect from a city that is continually becoming so homogeneous in its culture. Soon its good luck trying to find real culturally diverse entertainment in Manhattan…
They really mismanaged and mispromoted this site.
To play devil’s advocate, I can see why Loews is looking to shake the State loose. You have to figure Loews is taking an absolute bath financially with the State, given that they’re limited to mostly booking second-run films, many of them deep into their runs (really, how much business do you suppose ‘The Last Samurai’ is doing at this point?) or ones that didn’t even have much of an audience when they were playing first run (I’m thinking of such negligible sudden rain storm dodgers as ‘Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights’ and ‘Twisted’), or even the first-run Bollywood flicks they frequently book into the theater. With Times Square property values being what they are (to wit: William noting on the Embassy 2-3-4 page that the landlord for that property is looking to rent it for about $1 million/year) and the break-even (if lucky) business second-run theaters are the vast majority of the time (even in a city starved as any for low-cost entertainment options), I’d be looking to do the same thing if I were Loews.
So is there a posting for the Loew’s State Theatre which existed in the 50’s and 60’s in Times Square??? Not clear here.
Enjoy it now they are closing it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank heavens this theater is still open. I’m amazed so few people know about it or take advantage of it. $5.50 for a movie in Manhattan is a steal, and who cares if the movie has been out for a few weeks? Most people don’t get out to every new release anyway, and with most theatres now charging $10.25 per ticket, who can afford it?