AMC Kips Bay 15 Set to Close Jan. 3 as CEO Blames NYU Langone Plans

AMC Theatres says its 15-screen AMC Kips Bay 15 multiplex in Manhattan will close on January 3, and it blames plans by NYU Langone Health to expand on the site. In an open letter to the Kips Bay community, AMC CEO Adam Aron said the company does not want to leave the neighborhood, but that the decision is not AMC's to make. The closure has drawn protests from residents and local officials over the past two months.

Lease terminated and a sale in progress

The theater is located at 570 Second Avenue, at Second Avenue and 31st Street, in a two-story retail building. According to Aron, the building's owner has terminated AMC's lease in anticipation of a transfer of the property to NYU Langone. The New York Daily News reported that NYU is expected to close on a deal to buy the property by next year. The property also houses a Fairway supermarket on its basement level, which is also expected to close.

Aron wrote that NYU Langone, whose main hospital sits about a block to the east, wants to expand its medical facility. He said AMC had proposed alternatives, including that NYU enlarge the current low-rise building and keep a theater in it, or that the AMC location shrink to a smaller footprint. "Sadly, any and all variations that we have proposed have fallen on closed minds," Aron wrote. NYU Langone did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to the Daily News.

Strong attendance and local support

AMC said the theater has been performing well. Aron wrote that thousands of guests visit the theater every day, and that on several days this summer it was among the 10 most-attended AMC theaters in the United States, out of more than 500 the chain operates. The Daily News reported that the location recorded record-breaking revenue this summer.

AMC took over the venue in 2006, and the theater has operated at the site since 1999, according to Deadline. Local residents staged a protest in September to try to stop the closure. Elected officials have also backed the cinema. Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal said any proposed rezoning must deliver "a movie theater, a supermarket and housing," and Councilwoman Virginia Maloney said local officials have been meeting with NYU to try to influence its plans.

Wider industry context

Aron linked the theater's importance to a strong summer at the box office. Variety reported that movies including "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," "The Odyssey" and "Toy Story 5" collectively grossed $4.67 billion domestically this summer. The Daily News also cited a recent Pew poll finding that fewer than half of Americans reported visiting a movie theater in the past year.

What we know so far

The closure date of January 3 is set by the lease termination described in AMC's letter, and AMC says it is still willing to negotiate. NYU Langone has not publicly responded to the letter in the reports reviewed, and no alternative agreement has been announced. Residents will still be able to see upcoming films such as "Avengers: Doomsday" and "Dune: Part III" at the theater before it closes.

Aron said the company is open to solutions that would keep a theater in place and give the neighborhood expanded medical care. For now, the theater's future depends on talks between AMC, NYU Langone and the building's owner.

Tags: AMC Kips Bay 15, NYU Langone, Manhattan theaters