Best Weird Movies

I want to see a movie in IMAX.

There is one true IMAX movie theater in New York City: the IMAX at AMC Lincoln Square 13. A true IMAX runs 15-perf 70mm film. The rest are projected through Digital IMAX, dubbed lieMAX by its critics, which runs the movie on two Christie 2K projectors. 

At 97 x 76 feet, the IMAX at Lincoln Square also happens to be the biggest screen in North America. I would recommend sitting around M24. 

I want to see a movie on 35mm.

Your one-stop shop for all 35mm screenings (and 16mm and 70mm) is Analog Film NYC. The MVPs here are the Anthology Film Archives, Film Forum, MoMA, Nitehawk, and the Roxy Cinema (best seats three rows back). The Seward Library Branch of the NYPL also has regular, free screenings on 16mm. 

I want to go to an old-fashioned movie palace.

Since the closure of the Ziegfeld in 2016, the Paris Theater has been the last single-screen movie theater open to the public in New York City, and it includes both orchestra and balcony seating. Though owned by Netflix, the Paris has a good deal of revival screenings, often paired with a new release.

I want to go to a drive-in.

The best drive-in movie theaters are outside the city. If you can rent a car, make your way to Lehighton, PA for the Mahoning Drive-In, which screens everything in 35mm.

If you’re stuck in the city, you don’t even need a car for the Skyline Drive-In, where you can watch movies in Williamsburg against the backdrop of the Manhattan skyline. And for drive-ins across the state (and the country), make sure to consult Authentic Drive-In Theaters, maintained by The United Drive-In Theatre Owners Association (UDITOA).

I want to see a cult movie.

Before the pandemic, the Alamo Drafthouse’s Weird Wednesday series was the best spot for cult movies. It’s where I first saw classics like Prayer of the Rollerboys and Freaked. But their programmer Cristina Cacioppo decamped to the Nitehawk, and the quality has really dropped. Instead, I would recommend Nitehawk’s Ridiculous Sublime, Late Round, and Midnite Movies series (the bar also stays open later at Nitehawk). The IFC Center also regularly plays cult classics at midnight. 

And of course, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is still going strong, though the performers only go on the first and third Saturday of each month.

I want to see a classic.

This is where New York is really an embarrassment of riches. Film Forum has regular retrospectives: in the last few months alone, this has included programs of Billy Wilder, Yasujirō Ozu, and Harold Lloyd. The Anthology Film Archives’ Essential Cinema series draws on their collection of 35mm prints and only costs $9. MoMA is also pretty reliable, and Nitehawk Prospect Park has a Classic Pictures series.

I want to be served food and drink during the movie. 

The Alamo Drafthouse has three locations, one in Downtown Brooklyn, another in Lower Manhattan, and a third in Staten Island. The Nitehawk has two: one in Williamsburg and the other in Prospect Park.

I want to see a new release in a quiet theater. 

Perhaps because it’s not located in a residential area, the Regal Battery Park is often empty, especially in the middle of a weekday.