Angelika New York
18 W. Houston Street,
New York,
NY
10012
18 W. Houston Street,
New York,
NY
10012
25 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 119 comments
I am just here to say that I am extremely sad to discover that these awful auditoriums are where great art films start their platform runs and pull like 20k+ in a weekend per theater. Do better New York.
The distributors don’t even get the updated information, the City Cinemas name is now obsolete, the official website is what counts.
Still advertised this way.
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/1068/photos/369194
ANGELIKA FILM CENTER & CAFE is a brand based off one theater: Angelika Film Center & Cafe in NYC.
@dermycar and @Al Alvarez, ANGELIKA FILM CENTER is the chain for it’s 9 locations it operates, the official name is Angelika New York (Angelika Film Center) is the chain, which is owned by Reading..See pictures
You’re basing the confirmation on the business name on a quick link on the website that has a max character length. Just like “Angelika at Mosaic in Fairfax” is not the official name of the theater: Angelika Film Center & Cafe at Mosaic (check what’s on Fandango for reference). Angelika Film Center & Cafe is located on every logo, cafe napkin, employee shirt and, most importantly, the logo on front of the business.
Their ad in the New York Times Says FILM CENTER. Stop it.
yes, if you click on the theatre’s it Angelika New York, see photo. The parent company Reading eliminated City Cinemas in NYC and branded it’s three theaters under Angelika
Do you mean the website: angelikafilmcenter.com? There are six nationwide Angelika Film Centers, with Angelika Film Center & Cafe in NYC being the original. Also, if you look at the banner on the website, it states “Angelika Film Center”. I believe you’re looking at a website organizational tool (in the top left of the home screen) that is not indicative of the site name, as much as it is a quick ID tag for guests to switch amongst branded theaters.
@DERMYCAR, according to the Angelika website, the name is Angelika New York
The theater name has not changed to “Angelika New York” and is still “Angelika Film Center” just like the storefront (behind the scaffolding) visible from the street reads, as depicted in the photo above.
Offering a special “Two-for-the-price of-one” deal for upcoming premiere engagement of “The Duke” starring Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent. Details here
add previous operators City Cinemas
Prominently mentioned in this news article on the re-openings of NYC cinemas last weekend. Click here
Please update, theatre renamed Angelika New York as per Angelika Film Center Website
Please update, 1041 seats
Please update, the theatre open September 29, 1989. It was delayed due to construction problems
Wow, this is where I served as a volunteer staff member for the Independent Feature Film Market (IFFM), commuting in via Long Island Railroad for over a week in late September of 1995.
I stood at the top of those stairs in the photo to check people’s Market passes as they entered and on one day got to announce on a lobby microphone when some of the Market film screenings would be starting. For lunch I’d get a hot chicken sandwich at a deli around the corner that may have been Han’s which I see on Google Maps is still there. (I still have a paper coffee cup from there with a depiction of the Manhattan skyline below which says “Enjoy coffee here and don’t ever change…”, which in my head I enjoy repeating with a NY attitude. :) )
During the Market I also saw “Living In Oblivion” at the Angelika about filmmakers trying to make an indie film, and filmmaker Ed Burns speaking at Cooper Union following the then recent success of “The Brothers McMullan”. (The Market had some buzz because Kevin Smith had gotten a deal for “Clerks” there a year or two before.)
Was there for HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER. You could have heard a pin drop as the final credits rolled.
Sorry, Zoetmb, but there is proof that’s what the base wants. It’s called “grosses.”
Also, your base assessment that “attendance is down” is as wrong-headed as most of your other judgements. 2013 attendance might have been down 1.4% versus 2012 attendance, but it was also up 4.7% over 2011 and flat against 2010. And movie attendance in the first four months of 2014 is up 7% over the first four months of 2013. Sure, it’s down from recent highs in 2002 and 2003, but what was happening in the world in 2002 and 2003 that might want people to escape from reality for a few hours more often than before, or since, that isn’t happening now? We’re not talking about Netflix or VOD here.
And the Angelika still does pretty damn good, business-wise, without an IMAX-like presentation, or stadium seating, or dine-in options. The only think that differentiates the Angelika from the Sunshine or the Film Forum or any other arthouse theatre is its vibe. The Angelika doesn’t FEEL like any other theatre in Manhattan, even if it shares a similar spirit to the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas.
As for the other theatres that recently closed, ask yourself this: there are only a few reasons why a theatre closes. One, because the owners of the building decided not to renew the lease. Two, because the operators of the theatre decided it was no longer financially viable to operate a cinema in that location. Which one do you think was the case in respect to the Jackson Triplex, the 59th St. Cinema or the Brandon Twin? Or the 64th & Second? Or my old neighborhood theatre, the East 85th?
You say I’m off the mark and yet you agree with my specific comments:
Alvarez: You say that Manhattan theaters are threatened by property values and that’s EXACTLY what I said when I commented that “Especially in NYC where real-estate is very valuable, movie theaters will continue to close. ”
However I completely disagree with you when you say the mega-chains are not concerned about profits in NYC. I’m sure their shareholders would love to hear that. NYC used to be the place where they made all their money; NYC was the place where new technology premiered first, NYC (and Hollywood) is where all the premieres were held. No more. Dolby premiered Atmos in the area in a theatre in New Jersey! (OK, a few premieres are still held at the Ziegfeld).
Havens: When you say it’s what their base wants, there’s nothing that proves that. Since movie attendance is down, the case could be made that it’s just the opposite. Furthermore, even if you’re correct, that’s the “McDonald’s” approach to business. It might sometimes be profitable, but it sucks in every other respect.
You wrote: “If theatres are rushing to add dine-in options and bars and comfy leather recliner chairs, it’s because that is what their customer base wants.”
EXACTLY. That’s the point I made when I wrote that theaters must differentiate. Some theaters are differentiating by doing that, others by offering higher quality presentation (RPX/ETX/Atmos/IMAX) options. How does the Angelica differentiate other than playing some independent films? That was the point of my argument.
You wrote: “eventually every neighborhood will have one single multiplex serving it.”
Thereby proving my point that we’re losing theaters across the board for a variety of reasons.
And impossible anyway, since every neighborhood doesn’t have one single multiplex now. We will probably wind up with just one or two multiplexes per borough outside of Manhattan and perhaps five in Manhattan. Several more theaters closed recently: The Jackson Triplex, the BIG Cinemas on E59th St. and the Brandon Twin in Forest Hills. We’re now down to 26 theaters in Manhattan (199 screens) and 29 theaters in the four outer boroughs (232 screens).
Zoetmb is off the mark. Most Manhattan theatres are threatened by property values, not quality presentation, film choice, nor attendance. The Cinema 1-2-3 will eventually go as it is prime real estate. The Regal Union Square is going nowhere anytime soon as it is one the highest grossing in the city and has small ground level footprint.
Theatre owners did everything possible to delay DVD windows but the market forces made this unsustainable. Who cares about the window when audiences lose interest after two weeks anyway. Less theatres will help the remaining ones survive, and eventually every neighborhood will have one single multiplex serving it.
The mega chains are not so concerned about profits in NYC as long as the theatre is a cash cow that can produce quick revenue that can be invested elsewhere before the studio share is even due.
After reading these long screeds, I must paraphrase Ygriette from Game of Thrones:
You know nothing, Zoetmb.
Or, more specifically, your suppositions seem to be based on trains of thought about the exhibition business that were extinct thirty years ago. Having been in the exhibition business for nearly thirty years now, I see your points and laugh at how off-base they are from the realities I deal with on a daily basis.
Case in point: if all the chains are playing exactly the same movies anyway and the studios only really care about the big junky popcorn movies that can make a ton of money opening weekend, like the upcoming Godzilla, it’s because that is what their customer base wants. If theatres are rushing to add dine-in options and bars and comfy leather recliner chairs, it’s because that is what their customer base wants.
And for the record, one of the companies you mention has seen their per-screen attendance rise over the past couple years while having a net loss of screens and locations by making the in theatre experience the best possible, instead of propping up their numbers with spalshy acquisitions.
@AlAlvarez: No idea what you’re talking about. I didn’t say a word about Dermycar’s customer service. I simply said that you can’t turn a negative like hearing the subway in a movie theatre into a positive. And my remarks about the fact that 35mm film presentation will NOT make a comeback were addressed to MarkP, not to Dermycar.
I’ve never said that I think the Angelica should close. Quite the opposite, as it tends to play better movies than the horrible chains do. I just resent being fed b.s.
And I’ll admit to being very anal-compulsive when it comes to movie theatre presentation quality: it drives me up the wall if I find anything wrong. It’s like finding a bug in my food in a restaurant.
There are two opposite trends that are hurting movie theaters:
a. one can get remarkable quality watching a movie at home on a home theatre system, either HD streaming or Blu-ray, generally at a much lower cost than going out to a movie.
b. there are an increasing number of people willing to experience a movie on a smart phone or tablet.
Because of that and also all the competition for leisure time (and even the fact that’s there’s less “dating” and more “hooking up”), movie theaters have to provide a differentiating experience. That’s why you see theaters providing either enhanced sound and projection (RPX, ETX, LieMax, Dolby Atmos) or taking out 2/3 of the seats and putting in lounge chairs or having waiter service serving food/drinks at the seats. In almost any business, you differentiate (in a positive way) or die.
How does the Angelica differentiate? It’s on the edge of a hip neighborhood and it tends to play better films than the chains. It attracts a hipper crowd. Maybe it has better snacks. But the theaters themselves aren’t very good. So it doesn’t differentiate enough. And the Sunshine is down the street and the Film Forum is within walking distance.
Movie theaters close for two reasons:
One: People don’t go. The fact is that the theatrical business has been in decline since 1946. In 1946, 60% of the U.S. population averaged a movie a week. There were 82 to 90 million weekly admissions when the U.S. population was only 142 million.
In 2013, there were fewer than 26 million weekly admissions with a population of 315 million, with about 8% of the population seeing a movie a week. (Frankly, I’m surprised it was that high). How many movies did you see in a theatre in the last 12 months compared to 10-15 years ago? (Although in 1995, it was only slightly better with 9.16% of the population seeing a movie a week.)
Two: It’s a lousy business (theaters only get 5-10% of the ticket price in the opening weeks and these days, for most films there are only opening weeks). And it doesn’t work at all in places like NYC where real-estate is expensive. That’s why there’s no longer a single movie theatre on Broadway between 20th street and 66th street where there used to be one after another. Movie theaters are concession stands that happen to show movies because all the profits are in the popcorn. And they take up a lot of space, are therefore expensive to heat and cool, are only in use part of the day and have slow turnover.
Especially in NYC where real-estate is very valuable, movie theaters will continue to close. There have been rumors for several years now that the Cinema 1-2-3 and the Regal-UA Union Square are next on the chopping block. There are only 27 regular movie theaters left in Manhattan (201 screens) and 32 in the four outer boroughs (239 screens). My bet is that 30% of Manhattan theaters disappear in the next 10 years. And frankly, I’m not sure that it will matter all that much because all the chains play exactly the same movies anyway and the studios only really care about the big junky popcorn movies that can make a ton of money opening weekend, like the upcoming Godzilla.
Furthermore, movie theaters are getting hurt because of the short windows before movies hit home video in some form. Many art films (exactly the kinds of films the Angelica plays) stream day-and-date with the theatrical run. That spells death for the movie theatre. The movie theatre owners should NEVER have permitted this. They should refuse to play any movie that has a window shorter than X. The theatrical window used to be a year. Now it’s weeks for the big commercial films and sometimes 0 for the independent films. IMO, the studios are committing suicide, but they don’t care because the execs are only interested in the next quarter and their bonus/stock plan at the end of the year. None of them expect to be in their positions for very long.
The only way movie theaters survive is if we return to what we had before the consent decree: the studios have to own the theaters. That way the theaters themselves don’t have to make money. It will be interesting to see what the Chinese-based Dallan Wanda Group does with AMC-Loews in the long term.
zoetmb, your angry rant at the March of Time is appropriate in spirit but ignorant in theme.
Dermycar’s customer service is as rare and refreshing as any theatre manager could ever offer. I think you should celebrate that which we can preserve. Human decency. He didn’t build it, book it or sound proof it.
The Angelika Center was a noisy basement cinema the day it opened to rave reviews and a huge success for over twenty four years.
Your denial of dermycar’s efforts is the main reason classic theatres close.