Regal Times Square

A symbol of the ‘new’ Times Square (built roughly on the same site of a definitive symbol of the old Times Square - the former 24-hour porn grindhouse, the Harem Theatre), this 13-screen, all-stadium seating megaplex (part of the larger E-Walk entertainment complex), replete with retro-Art Deco style touches, murals, and enough neon to illuminate 50 pizza parlors, opened its doors on November 12, 1999 with 1,353-seats.

Initially it had little neighborhood competition - the faded Criterion Center seven-screen multiplex at Broadway and 45th Street; the white elephant Loews State Theatre on the basement floor of the Virgin Megastore, one block north of the Criterion Theatre; and the single auditorium Loews Astor Plaza Theatre on 44th Street, west of Broadway - but, by April of 2000, with those aforementioned theatres either closed, facing increasing irrelevancy, or facing attendance drops of several fractions, the Loews 42nd Street E-Walk found itself competing with a even bigger movie (and crowd) magnet across the street: AMC’s first foray into the NYC film marketplace, the Empire 25.

Despite a battle to fill their combined 38 screens with product, both theatres have succeeded in making Times Square arguably the strongest filmgoing destination it’s ever been.

AMC acquired this theatre, along with the rest of the Loews Cineplex chain, in January 2006. As a condition of approving the merger, the state and federal governments required Loews and AMC to sell ten theatres, including this one.

It became a Regal cinema on September 15, 2006. 4 years later Regal opened the very first RPX Auditorium. The RPX stands for the Regal Premium Experience. The official slogan for RPX id “The best picture you have ever heard”. The RPX Auditorium contains crystal clear digital projection, high-impact giant screen, powerful surround sound, and breathtaking immersive visual entertainment experience. In 2018 the 4DX auditorium opened to show 4D movies.

Recent comments (view all 356 comments)

markp on February 29, 2024 at 10:05 pm

Theatre 12 was the original 70MM house for Hateful 8 and Dunkirk.

MovieguyNYC on March 3, 2024 at 7:18 am

Update: they found a fix for the window boxed scope image in the RPX. It looks to me that they altered the size of the screen although I might be wrong. In any event, the image now fills the entire screen.

BigScreen_com on March 13, 2024 at 8:38 pm

The theater is now the site of the world’s largest 4DX auditorium, and the only location in North America with two 4DX installations:

New York, NY: World’s Largest 4DX Auditorium Opens at Regal Times Square [Mar 13, 2024]

ridethectrain on March 13, 2024 at 9:49 pm

It looks like this theatre not getting Screen X like Union Squre, they took down the sign in the lobby and posted photos of the construction. No more Loews anywhere in the complex.

Comfortably Cool on March 14, 2024 at 1:27 pm

What’s the seating capacity of “the world’s largest 4DX auditorium?”

thehorror13 on March 19, 2024 at 5:46 pm

@ridethectrain
Technically, the only “Loews” thing left is the Guest Services desk and sign. And the bathrooms on one side were not redone, but not necessarily “Loews” style. I believe they we’re remodeled once before when Regal first took over.

thehorror13 on March 19, 2024 at 5:50 pm

As for ScreenX, it might come later in the future, along with a bar. Regal spent a lot on this conversion, and I think the budget must have been used up (considering they just came out of bankruptcy protection too).

ridethectrain on March 19, 2024 at 10:16 pm

This was Regal 3 renovation of the theatre and theatre 12 is 296 which is 4DX. Please update current total seats is now 1590. The updated seat count with additional seating due to RPX and 4DX getting more seats.

ridethectrain on April 13, 2024 at 5:00 pm

Uploaded in the photos section a article about 4DX at this location from the lastest Boxoffice Magazine issue

ridethectrain on August 15, 2024 at 9:08 pm

Uploaded new photos of the 4DX screen 12 in the photos section. Theatre still operating with 2 4DX screens, don’t know if Screen X will ever come.