“Enjoy everything from box-office hits to art-house films at these recommended theatres in Brooklyn & Manhattan.”
There is something to be said about watching a movie on the big screen, and as the weather gets cooler in New York City, an indoor activities seems all the more tempting. We rounded up the most recommended cinemas including Nitehawk where you can enjoy a meal and drink and Film Forum, New York’s leading independently run movie house. With award season around the corner, be sure to catch up on some of this year’s most popular and underrated films at these theaters.
Nitehawk Cinema (Williamsburg & Prospect Park)
Recommended by Noemie Le Coz, Sara Radin, Caitlin McMullen, Georgie Greville, Sarah Vinciguerra, Nicole Hoyakem, Lexi Cunningham, Tea Hacic-Vlahovic, Ivy Weinglass, and Zahra Bennani
With two locations in Brooklyn, Nitehawk prides itself in being one of New York City’s dine-in theaters with special dinner and brunch menus based on the movie screenings, along with a signature beer and cocktail list. The film programming includes new and popular films, as well as film series devoted to old films such as honoring the movies of 1968 and movies screened on 35MM.
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BAM Rose Cinema (Fort Greene)
Recommended by Crystal Moselle, Jill Lindsey, Sarah Eaton, Sarah Winshall, Sarah Kinlaw, Emma Ramos, Fatima Jones, Beverly Nguyen, and Caitlin McMullen
Not just home to dance, music, and theater performances, where NYC passerby Fatima Jones worked as a publicist, the Brooklyn Academy of Music is also home to BAM Rose Cinema. The programming features independent and new films that would be up for awards, as well as classic and art house films, including a monthly series, Screen Epiphanies, in which a prominent artistic or cultural figures, such as NYC passerby Fariha Róisín and Durga Chew-Bose, talk about a film that inspired their passion for cinema.
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Metrograph (Lower East Side)
Recommended by Crystal Moselle, Dianna Cohen, Rian Fossett, Nadia Bedzhanova, Angie Venezia, Fariha Roisin, and Cassandra Marketos
This Manhattan movie theater has a unique and carefully curated selection of classic prestigious films. The theater also features the Commissary restaurant, a balcony lounge, a bookstore, and candy shop. NYC passerby Cassandra Marketos says, “The upstairs is a beautiful, old-Hollywood feeling, magnificently filled with light in the afternoons, perfect to work from, and always quiet. When you're done, you can slip downstairs for an impeccably curated selection of vintage cinema. It feeds the mind and all the senses. I love it.”
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Film Forum (Greenwich Village)
Recommended by Sarah Eaton, Kristi Garced, Sara Radin, and Caitlin McMullen
This non-profit movie theater opened in 1970 that was known for screening independent films with a single projector. Today, it has expanded and upgraded to accommodate more audiences and memberships. The programming features independents and foreign art films, foreign and American classics, genre works, festivals, and directors’ retrospectives.
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Angelika (NoHo)
recommended by Dianna Cohen, Kristi Garced, Sara Haile, Susan Alexandra, and Sara Radin
The flagship Angelika location in NoHo with five screens and a cafe on premises features new, independent, and foreign films. It has become one of the most recognized arthouse theaters in the country and the first choice for many filmmakers and film lovers looking to catch a new film.
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Other recommendations include IFC Center (as recommended by Sarah Eaton, Kristi Garced, & Caitlin McMullen), Cobble Hill Cinemas (as recommended by Caitlin McMullen & Nicole Hoyakem), Film Noir (as recommended by Mimi Packer & Caitlin McMullen), Chelsea Cinepolis (as recommended by Kristi Garced), and AMC Village 7 (as recommended by Fatima Jones).