AMC Kips Bay 15 to Close January 3 as Lease Is Terminated
AMC CEO Adam Aron said NYU Langone Health intends to buy the building and the owner ended the lease, despite AMC's alternative proposals.
AMC Kips Bay 15 will close on January 3, AMC CEO Adam Aron said in a letter to the Kips Bay community, according to Variety. Aron wrote that NYU Langone Health wants to expand and intends to buy the building, and that the building's owner has terminated AMC's lease.
Aron said AMC proposed alternatives to keep cinema in the space, including enlarging the low-rise building while retaining a theater, or operating a smaller AMC theater there. According to the CEO, NYU Langone did not engage with those proposals.
Aron also said the Kips Bay theater operates continuously and that on several days this summer it ranked among AMC's ten most attended U.S. theaters out of more than 500.
A 27-year run in Manhattan
Variety reported on August 24 that the Kips Bay theater would close at the end of 2026 after a 27-year run. The site opened on May 14, 1999, and AMC took it over in 2006, making it the chain's second-largest multiplex in New York City after the Empire 25 in Times Square.
Local residents staged a protest in September to try to stop the closure. The decision comes after a record-breaking summer box office that grossed $4.67 billion domestically, with films including 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day,' 'The Odyssey' and 'Toy Story 5.'
Quick answers
When is AMC Kips Bay 15 closing?
The theater will close on January 3, according to a letter from AMC CEO Adam Aron.
Why is AMC Kips Bay 15 closing?
Aron said the building's owner terminated AMC's lease as NYU Langone Health plans to expand and intends to buy the building.
When did AMC Kips Bay 15 open?
The theater opened on May 14, 1999, and AMC took it over in 2006.