AMC CEO Adam Aron spoke about the upcoming closure of New York City’s popular AMC Kips Bay 15 movie theater on January 3.
Aron wrote a letter to the Kips Bay community explaining that nearby hospital NYU Langone, which plans to expand its medical facility, was not interested in any of AMC’s alternatives to sharing the space. The building also includes a 15-screen AMC theater, as well as a Fairway supermarket and bank, which are expected to close.
“Unfortunately, the decision to maintain or end AMC’s tenure at Kips Bay is not one we have to make. The nearby NYU Langone Health facility wants to expand, appears to be in the process of purchasing the building in which your (our) theater currently operates, and wants us gone. In anticipation of such a transfer to NYU Langone, the owner of the current building terminated our lease,” Aron writes. “We agreed with NYU Langone and suggested several alternatives – including enlarging the existing low-rise building to accommodate their desire to expand their medical facility, while also leaving a theater for you. Or alternatively, we suggested downsizing our theater so we could at least leave something in place that would continue to serve you. Unfortunately, we couldn’t think of all the variations we suggested.”
Wednesday, August 24 Diversity The Kips Bay theater will close at the end of 2026, ending its 27-year run there, it said. AMC took over the theater in 2006, making it the theater chain’s second-largest movie theater in the city (after the Empire 25 theater in Times Square). Kips Bay’s location was liked by local residents, who staged a protest in September to try to stop the closure.
“Every day, thousands of guests watch movies at AMC Kips Bay 15,” Aron wrote. “It has recently become so popular that for several days last summer, AMC Kips Bay 15 was repeatedly ranked in the top 10 most-viewed movie theaters in the entire United States, among the more than 500 movie theaters operated nationally by AMC.”
The theater’s closure follows a record-breaking summer box office that saw films such as “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” “Odyssey,” “Toy Story 5” gross a combined $4.67 billion domestically. There are also major upcoming movies like “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Dune: Part III,” which Kips Bay residents will now have the chance to see at their favorite theater before it closes for good.
Read Aron’s full letter below.
“To the Kips Bay Community,
Since news first broke that our popular AMC Kips Bay 15-screen movie theater located at 570 Second Avenue in Manhattan would soon be forced to close its doors against our will, I have been overwhelmed by the outstanding support this AMC theater has received from the local community.
Many moviegoers, neighbors, and more importantly, many elected officials have gathered around our theater. (Given the central role movie theaters play in the lives of so many New Yorkers, it’s perhaps much better and more accurate to say that most of you are rallying around YOUR theatre.)
On behalf of everyone at AMC, thank you. Your support means a lot to us and especially to our theater team members at AMC Kips Bay 15 who work tirelessly day and night to bring smiles to your faces.
When thinking about this theater, which has been a cultural icon and entertainment lifeline for many who live nearby for decades since its opening on May 14, 1999, I want to make one thing absolutely clear:
AMC Theaters doesn’t want to go away. Not even a little bit. AMC Theaters wants to stay in Kips Bay.
Operating under long-term leases, there was a period when the money going to the theatre’s landlord each month increased so much that the long-term existence of the theater was uncertain. However, we have been fortunate to be successful in addressing these concerns in recent years. Today this theater (in continuous operation for over 25 years) has a bright future – if we are allowed to preserve it.
Indeed, thousands of guests watch a movie at AMC Kips Bay 15 every day. It has become so popular lately that for several days last summer, AMC Kips Bay 15 was repeatedly ranked in the top 10 most-watched movie theaters in the entire United States among the more than 500 movie theaters operated nationally by AMC.
From this perspective, this is a theater that shouldn’t even be on the verge of having its lights permanently turned off.
AMC, of course, wants this AMC movie theater to stay in place.
And remembering how much and how often Americans love watching movies in theaters, a tradition that goes back over a century in Manhattan, we’ve heard from many of you asking us to stay open for your benefit.
It appears that NYU Langone Health shares neither ours nor yours.
Unfortunately, the decision to continue or terminate AMC’s tenure at Kips Bay is not one we have to make. The nearby NYU Langone Health facility is looking to expand, seems to be in the process of purchasing the building in which your (our) theater currently operates, and wants us gone. In anticipation of such a transfer to NYU Langone, the owner of the current building terminated our lease.
We agreed with NYU Langone and suggested many alternatives; including enlarging the existing low-rise building to satisfy his desire to enlarge his medical facility and also leaving a theater hall for you. Or alternatively we suggested downsizing our theater so that at least something would remain in place to continue serving you. Unfortunately, all the variations we suggested fell on closed minds.
We call on NYU Langone Health to open their minds, think creatively, and find a solution that will provide the Kips Bay community with BOTH of the two most desired things: expanded facilities that deliver the world-class medical care that is the hallmark of NYU Langone Health AND a fully functional AMC Theater on Second Avenue.
It’s not true that New Yorkers can be prevented from having your cake and eating it too. You really can. But only if well-intentioned people think a little differently. After all, the ubiquitous adage “where there is a will, there is a way” is believed to have been first published in 1640; This goes back three hundred and eighty-six years to be exact.
Speaking of people of good will, I want to express particular gratitude to Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal and New York State Assemblyman Keith Powers for their leadership and tireless advocacy on this issue. By amplifying and speaking on behalf of the local community’s clear desire, they energetically called attention to the importance of keeping an AMC movie theater open and operating in Kips Bay.
In summary, this is a theater that you at Kips Bay will want to continue to have at your beck and call, and we at AMC certainly want it to be allowed to continue in our fleet of theaters.
But time is short. The lights at AMC Kips Bay 15 will see their final sunset forever on January 3, just two and a half months from now, unless NYU Langone Health allows us to continue to please the Kips Bay community in order to honor our terminated lease.
Hopefully, an outcome will result where an intelligent workable solution will be devised that will benefit and satisfy the entire neighborhood. What do you think of NYU Langone Health?
No matter what, I want you to know how much AMC appreciates your support, your efforts, and your voice. We are proud to be part of the Kips Bay community since 1999 and I sincerely hope that we can continue to be a part of it for years to come.
Sincerely,
Adam Aron, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AMC Entertainment