New York City is experiencing a strong resurgence in moviegoing, particularly for highly anticipated films like Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey.' The AMC Lincoln Square 13, one of only 41 theaters globally capable of projecting the full IMAX 70mm cut, is seeing sold-out screenings for its four to five daily showings, even at 3 AM. Tickets, originally priced at $33, are being resold for hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of dollars on various platforms, leading to widespread scamming issues as demand far outstrips the 400-plus seats available. This demand has created a "culture of exclusivity" around IMAX 70mm screenings, pushing attendance levels rarely seen before.
This localized boom in cinema attendance, however, contrasts with a broader, long-term decline in moviegoing across the industry. While theaters are seeing delight in current audience numbers, overall attendance has been falling for two decades. AMC, the world's largest theater chain, reported a 26.5% drop in attendance in the second quarter of this year compared to 2019, representing 26 million fewer patrons. The total number of movie tickets sold in the US and Canada fell from nearly 1.6 billion in 2002 to 1.3 billion in 2019, indicating a need for operators to generate more revenue per customer to offset fewer overall sales.
In a related development, the AMC Kips Bay location faces closure due to NYU Langone's acquisition of its site. This impending closure, expected by early next year (with the last listed showtime for "Dune: Part 3" on January 4, 2027), has sparked community protests. Local residents and officials, including Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assembly Member Keith Powers, are rallying to save the theater, highlighting its importance as a community space. While NYU Langone states the purchase is not yet closed and the landlord and AMC had a lease termination right, the situation has caused concern not only for the theater but also for other local businesses in the plaza, such as a Bank of America branch that is relocating by mid-October.
