ArcLight

If you just grab a drink from the bar, there is no place to use the restroom. You have to purchase a movie ticket to use the restroom!

Really like that they have no ads before the movie. Definitely pricier but great selection of movies. Gotta check out the new set up at AMC on the promenade.

pretty good place to watch a movie, comfortable seating nice bar –keeping in mind it’s a movie theater– with craft beer on tap. They need to do a better job of keeping it clean.

It’s a great place to watching movies, this the second time here with my lady. Money monster.

Great new movie theater nice location, not bad parking, in the center of it all. we really need these here

Went back to this theater to pick up a pair of movie vouchers last week, after missing a film previously due to lack of parking. The power was out in the theater, but they still managed to give me vouchers without any hassle. So they earned back one star. LOL! (Of course, I’m going to use the vouchers at the much better Sherman Oaks location.)

My experience here was rather great compared to a few other people as I’m reading. I love the arclight chain I only gave it 4 stars due to the fact that this particular arclight doesn’t seem to have the updated cocktail list that the other ones do. In lieu of that the bartender was very good. He was very attentive even during a huge rush and took care of us very well.
I also saw him accommodating others by combining their bar and concession stand orders so that they wouldn’t have to wait in line for popcorn. I thought that was very exceptional on his part. I feel really bad he wasn’t wearing a name tag because I would like to name him properly and give him props.

This ArcLight makes me sad. Similar to the ArcLight in Culver City. Unlike great experiences I’ve had at the Hollywood and Sherman Oaks location.
Two stars because I did get to see a movie. Which is the goal after all. Reason for the lack of more stars see below.
First, a red flag should’ve gone up when an employee at the door tried to sell me on a $ 15 membership. Guess mine expired when they got rid of free memberships (it had been 6 months since my visit to Culver location).
Second, the décor in bar area is depressing. Maybe put up some movie posters, make it seem inviting. I think I saw a tumbleweed.
Third, at 10 pm on Friday night the popcorn was old.
Fourth, asked for two hot dogs. Was given two options, the quarter pounder or regular. We got one of each. They’re the same and both are pulled from a drawer. Makes me curious where the «apps» on the appetizer menu come from.
Fifth, cocktail prices are similar to a nice bar in SM. That’s fine but don’t serve me a Pinot noir I know I can buy at Ralph’s for the same price. At least offer selections that are at a marginally higher price point. Beer options were decent though.
Call John Taffer, this place needs a LOT of work.

Finally, an ArcLight in town! For a long time, the best theater in the area’s been the Landmark at Westside Pavilion. I love the Landmark, but they’ve always been a bit too highbrow to show the latest blockbusters, popcorn flicks, rom coms, and bad movies in general. If I want to see an arthouse film, indie documentary, or Academy Award contender, the Landmark will always be my theater of choice. For everything else, thank god we have an ArcLight!
Reserved seats, automated ticket machines, online tickets, a full service bar, and, the piece de resistance… you can bring your drink into the theater! Finally, we can get trashed at the movies and watch summer blockbusters (and there are a lot of bad movies coming out this year — «Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2» in particular).
My boyfriend and I finally made it to the new ArcLight for the first time last Saturday to see «10 Cloverfield Lane» (Side note: I thought it was refreshing to see such a unique and original film, but I’m not sure how it received a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. It was good, but not 90% good). Anyways, we bought our tickets ahead of time online, and for a daytime weekend show, they were only $ 13.50 each. We arrived at the theater around 4PM and it was pretty empty; I think a lot of people don’t know this theater is here yet, which is nice to not have to fight the crowds. As we approach summer and more and more tourists are in the area, I’m pretty sure it won’t be nearly as empty.
In the entrance of the theater they have automated ticketing machines where you can either purchase or pick up your online tickets. They have an attendant in case you run into any issues, but the combined brainpower of myself and my boyfriend was enough to enable us to easily procure our pre-​purchased tickets.
To the right of the entry, there’s a large lounge area with a full service bar and ample high tables and chairs. We snagged a spot at the bar, and the bartender was super sweet and chatty. She mixed expert drinks, moderately priced for the area. In the lounge, they also serve bar food and the regular popcorn/​candy theater fare.
If you’ve visited the recently renovated AMC down the block at the Promenade and love the new reclining seats, you might be disappointed to know that the seats at the ArcLight don’t recline. That’s a definite bummer!
My only other complaint with this theater is the location, like many others have already expressed in their reviews. Even for locals who live nearby, the Promenade is a pain to get to on weeknights or weekends — thanks to traffic. The traffic only gets worse the closer we get to summer. The parking situation at the Santa Monica Place Mall is even worse than the adjacent promenade. Luckily, they’ll be opening the metro soon, which might ease some of the traffic congestion or make it easier for some folks to get down to the area. My suggestion is to take a Lyft or Über! It’s worth it to not have to worry about traffic and parking — and you also don’t have to worry about finding a DD!

Soooooooooooooooo it looks like all of the nasty reviews about this place are focused on the parking garage. Well, get it sorted, boyz and girrrls, ‘cuz this theater is a new slice of heaven up in my hood.
While waiting for the prince to arrive, I was hanging at the bar (they have Tito’s, Maker’s 46 and great beers on tap) when a trio walked up, looked at the menu and started bitching that a beer is $ 8 a pint. I turned around and politely stated, «It’s a movie theater with booze. Quit complaining.»
They were like, «Touché.»
Speaking of bars, let’s talk about the bartender: FABULOUS! Like, you wouldn’t think that a small-​scale bar would have such a personable gentleman on duty, but this guy (tots forgot to get his name, my bad) was beyond lovely.
Food: I wasn’t feeling like scarfing a flatbread or wings, and the kid has recently gone full pescatarian and is on a workout kick as well, so he wanted to run up to Whole Foods before the show and get some Goop-​protein-​green-​Marvel-​comics drink. BUT, I did happen to grab a quick order of the Marcona Almonds for $ 5. Holey merry mutha’ of gawd, what fucking food stamps have I been shopping with that I’ve never experineced these wonderful bits of manna from heaven! Whatever you do, grab some of these soaked-​in-​olive-​oil-​and-​sprinkled-​with-​sea-​salt bits of bedazzle to go with your ethically sourced chocolate.
Word.
PS: We saw Cloverfield. Love John Goodman.

As another commenter said, my expectations were high. For starters, I like the stadium sitting setup they have, the sound system is out of this world, & my likes end there.
I would’ve preferred reclining chairs as other movie theatre have, & since they seem to have a full bar already it would’ve been nice if they gave you a food & drinks menu while watching the movie as I’ve seen in other theatre’s.
All in all, arch light is very nice with great picture + sound system. Although, I would’ve expected the amenities to be nicer, I do recommend you checking it out for yourself.

I went to the official opening back in November. I thought I had already written a review, but I guess I just pushed away the memory of the experience all together because it was so horrible.
We really wanted to see Hail Caesar this last Friday, and neither AMC in Santa Monica was showing it. So, we decided to go once more into the breech and try the ArcLight again.
Purchasing the ticket online is as easy and clear cut as it is to use Fandango — this is the only good about the entire experience.
The layout of this place is plain awkward and horrible. Too big in spots and far to cramped in others. The staff is all over the place and doesn’t seem to know what to do at any given moment.
At the concession stand, where there were no lines, it takes each person around 10 full minutes to retrieve popcorn and a soda, and then ring it up with discount codes for their preferred members. Oh jeez. Had to wait for a supervisor to come over and help with my blood pressure going up every second.
At least the theater we were in (#9) was fairly large, but the sound is horrible. It feels like you are in someone’s private screening room with their crappy little sound system. The seats are so hard that it is literally shocking to sit down. There is very little leg room and not enough space under the seats to store your packages (this theater is after all, in a large mall).
The young man doing the front ‘warm up’ could not be heard on our second row, upper level. He did have his ipad with him, which was how he was running the projector. When the previews started, the aspect ratio was off, and after a few taps on his pad, voila, the picture was fixed. Why did it bother me so much to see him do this? It just seems so cheesy to have the young boy controlling our movie viewing on his little ipad. I want him up in his booth, doing whatever he needs to do; pretending to be a projectionist. At the end of his little spiel, I did manage to hear him advise that phones should be turned off or silenced. NO. I do not want anybody looking at their stupid phone during the feature, even if their phone is silenced.
There are no side railings for the stairs in the upper level, so there is nothing to hold on to going up or down the stairs. This is especially dangerous for all the seniors that were present, like my own senior mother.
The movie was great, the tiny over-​priced, non-​refillable popcorn was good. The facility and service is horrible. I doubt I will be back, but then again, I cannot resist a good movie.
We’ll see.

We were so looking forward to having an ArcLight in Santa Monica (meaning great cinematic experience), but we were totally disappointed!
First, the ticket prices are really expensive, $ 15.75 for a 9AM matinée show, for a movie that’s been on screens for several weeks!
Second, the theatre looks shabby already (when it just opened), with dirty walls and carpets (did they recycle old stuff?).
Third, the moviegoer’s experience is totally 1990s! Uncomfortable, narrow, upright and non-​reclining seats; small old-​style screens; and standard, underwhelming stereo systems.
What a let down from ArcLight’s expectations, and from other nearby Promenade theaters which upgraded to comfortable, fully reclining seats and state-​of-​the-​art screens and stereo systems — for half the price for matinée shows!
It’s a no brainer: we won’t be going back to the Arclight Santa Monica any time soon. Not only are they a total insult to movie buffs, they’re stealing all new movies from existing theaters, which means that having a lousy ArcLight in town is worse than having none at all (no we have to schlepp all the way to West LA or Westwood to enjoy a decent moviegoing experience).

Holy Cow! Even the phone doesn’t work! Couldn’t get anyone to pick up. or even a robot, to ask about a film.
Serious service provider problem from the get go.
What a let down after such a build up.
Should be called BarfLight.

My real rating is zero stars.
I am a huge fan of the ArcLight in Hollywood, so I was excited for this one to open near my home. But this location is not up to ArcLight standards. The cleaning crew wasn’t finished ten minutes prior to the movie time, and they made us wait. We go into the theater and it was still dirty. The theater itself was old and was literally the smallest screen I have ever seen at a theater. We decided to leave during the opening credits because ultimately the quality was not worth the ArcLight ticket price. I have no problem paying for $ 16 ticket at the Hollywood location, or even the Pasadena location, but this place wasn’t worth a dollar.
We walked up to the ticket counter and asked for a refund. The employee told us to go talk to the concessions counter. We go to concessions and two employees were having a personal conversation about another employee and told us that we would have to wait. Once they were done talking, one employee finally asked what we needed. We asked for a refund and she said that the manager would have to take care of it (who was the guy she was talking with). The manager asked us why we wanted a refund and we said that the screen was too small. HE LAUGHED AT US and then gave us a refund.
I’m not sure if the ArcLight standards are slipping, or if this location is just the ugly step-​child of the ArcLight family, but the service and quality is completely unacceptable.

The seats are shorter so your thighs are halfway on the seat. If over 5’6″, this could be an issue
If the guy behind you crosses his legs, his shoes could hit your head. And if he stepped in dog poop, you might smell it.
The screen size is smaller compared to AMC or Cinemark. The rows does NOT curve with the screen.
If you get there early, the screen is turned off. There are no previews and if you make a sound, others will shsss you like a bunch of NAZIs. Its like a library so no talking from the moment you walk into the theater.
The kiosk card swipe for online pre purchase does not work. You pick up the tickets at the same spot where you order popcorn. Expect a long wait as the guy ahead of you will take his sweet time to order popcorn soda and candy.
It will take 15 mins to find parking as its where all the tourist go for the pier. Then 10 minutes to walk from the parking to the theater. There are no signs to direct you to the theater. Just find bloomingdales, then go up.
The Dolby ATMOS sound system does not work properly. Most of the sound is from the screen, not from the ceiling. The sound at amc and cinemark are superior.
No leather rocking seats.
Popcorn leaves a plastic chemical aftertaste.
I will stick with Cinemark XD as they have it all including leather seats, free parking and bigger screens.

We visited Santa Monica’s swanky new ArcLight to see the new Star Wars film last night.
While the film itself was spectacular (you should definitely go watch if you haven’t yet!), I agree that this theater certainly doesn’t offer much to differentiate itself from the everyday moviegoing experience.
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— First off, the audio quality was lacking. It’s somewhat hard to enjoy the thunderous sounds of TIE fighters and blaster fights when it feels as though you’re hearing the movie’s audio in a vacuum. The surround sound in our theater didn’t sound quite right, and I kept getting distracted by what sounded like raindrops coming from the speakers above our seats. I’m guessing that maybe the audio wasn’t calibrated properly.
— Also, the seats in our theater weren’t as comfortable as I had been hoping for. The seats at ArcLight are lightly padded and can’t be adjusted to different positions; it’s not all that different from what I’d expect from cheap airplane seats. My GF had to keep twisting around throughout the movie to maintain a comfortable seating position.
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Honestly, even the shady old AMC theater (with its comfy leather recliners) down on Third Street has a much better seating setup than ArcLight does.
For the $ 15 ticket prices at this place, you aren’t getting much of an upgrade from the everyday chain theater. Probably avoiding this ArcLight in the future!

I went here today to see Star Wars, and while I was impressed with the Dolby Atmos sound system and the quality of the screen projector, I was underwhelmed with the service.
There were many Arclight workers running around the theater, yet there was only one worker who was checking tickets. My boyfriend and I could have easily walked around and/​or missed that person. Many customers actually DID walk right passed the Arclight employee at the ticket checkpoint and were hopelessly looking for someone to direct them to the right theater. When they finally found an Arclight employee in passing, the worker just chastised them saying, «You should have had your ticket checked at the entrance.» I’m sorry, isn’t that your job to check tickets and direct customers? I guess I missed the memo that said it was okay to tell courteous customers that they did something wrong. Seems like this theater needs more people at the entrance checking tickets and directing people than wandering around the theater aimlessly.
I hope this theater gets their act together soon. It has the right technology to be great, but with the service the way it is, it might not get there.

Everything looks old and reused. Seats already stained? Carpet looks worn out. Plaster on the outside wall already cracking. What a dump!!! Maybe they used Home Depot labor to build it. Concrete work is atrocious. Theatre is already falling apart.
This is a new theatre using old parts. Honestly, it’s disgusting. My seat had some type of animal hair on it as well as some type of material that looked like the seat was falling apart. Not mention some crusty hard dried foreign matter on the seat.
Not sure if these are old chairs from one of the pussy cat theatres from years back, but as soon as I am out of here going to start a z-​pack.
Stick with the AMC at 4^th and Arizona. They remodeled there theatres and they are much better than this alleged brand new theatre.
Even the arclight in Sherman oaks is better than this one.
When you come into the arclight. Look at the speakers above the outside screen. You’ll notice they are all dented up. Proof this theatre is made with left overs from another theatre they took down.
Smells new, looks like an old pussy cat theatre including hard stuck on stains on the seats.
Won’t be coming back to this one. Seriously gross.

Yay! Finally a new movie theater in Santa Monica! I’m always a big fan of ArcLight theaters and this one has all the basics you come to expect from their brand: a lounge with bar and small bites, large screens, updated and modern space, and seat selection. This location might actually be my favorite for 2 reasons:
1. Everyone who works here is SO nice. They had lots of people working during the soft opening and every single person was incredibly friendly and helpful. I’ve noticed that’s not usually the case at other ArcLights.
2. You can take alcohol into all the theaters, not just certain rooms!!! Come on, you know having a glass of wine makes watching a movie that much better.
What could have been better:
1. They don’t validate parking, but Santa Monica Place offers 90 minutes complimentary.
2. The seats don’t recline. (I was recently spoiled by the amazingly comfortable recliners at the nearby AMC)
This will definitely be my go-​to theater in the area!