Regal UA Sheepshead Bay

This theatre has no charm. It lacks class and I almost never go there.

Though this theater is generally nothing remarkable, one thing I’ve come to appreciate is the how the staff paints the front doors for big “event” movies. I think they’ve been doing this for about two years now; I remember the glass doors displaying the logo for one of the Twilight movies, they decorated them with logos and characters for Toy Story 3, and over the weekend I noticed the doors were done up for Transformers 3. The outer doors had the Transformers logo (which you can kind of see in the photo I took) while the inner doors had some renderings of characters like Optimus Prime and Bumblebee (I didn’t get a chance to take pictures of those, unfortunately).

The UA Sheepshead Bay 14 is a place to see a movie, but not necessarily the place to enjoy the movie. The expansion and upgrade about 8 years ago only made matters worse. I share Gringe’s memories of the Century’s Brooklyn theaters with the exception of the Kings Plaza hodge-podge.

This theater opened up in the summer of 1987. I saw Schwarzennegger there in “Predator” the first week it opened. It was an immediate smash and knocked out many nicer places to see a film like the Loews Georgetowne twin. This place was so popular that on Saturday night, even if you lived close by, you had to leave at least 2 hours ahead of time to wait in an enormous line to get into their parking lot. It was the most frustrating experience and took the enjoyment out of going to the movies. Sometimes on a realy crowded night, you had to park blocks away. The more popular it got, the more it went downhill. It was discovered by a massive amount of hoodlums from outside the area. I can remember one blasting rap music in the theater, while an usher was nowhere to be found. I remember boobs shining small lasers at the screen and an idiot, sitting next to my sister, talking on a cell-phone during the last scene in “Titanic.” I moved out of Brooklyn in 1999 and I understand that they have revamped this theater, even making one into an IMAX. To be frank, despite my having seen many films there, I really don’t miss it.

I agree that complaining is futile. Yes Sheepshead Bay UA is one of the largest but I disagree that it is one of the cleanest. It is average at best.

I have had a better overall experience in many of the smaller Brooklyn theatres, to name a few; Cobble Hill Cinema, BAM Rose Cinema, The Pavilion and Brooklyn Heights Cinema. Yes, I continue to go to UA occasionally for convenience, usually at off peak times.

Side bar, one of the best movie theaters is the Sunshine in the Lower East Side. Regarding food, this is NYC and there is a plethora of choices at all times.

The security in this theatre sucks..There was a brawl so bad Friday night we had to leave through the emergency exit before the movie was even over…never seen the end of the new Halloween

does anyone know which screens are SR+D, dts and SDDS. Number 13 has Dolby Digital Cinema

I like the place because of its location and the proximity to Randazzo’s Clam Bar, so I’ve gone from far away in Manhattan to relax near the shore. However, I agree with everyone about how hideous it is. The first time I used it, I couldn’t even find it, and walked all the way to the ‘Fun’ place about a ½ mile up. No signs, no nothing. It’s all right once you’re in your seat, no particular disruptive people except for monster/Halloween type things.

Is AMC/Loews going to have to sell off a peice of that you think? In New York they may not have a total monopoly but in Boston and Chicago they may. I wonder if we’ll be seeing Clearview Cinemas E-Walk 13 in a few months.

I too hate all the commercial advertisements, but I enjoy the trailers for upcoming movies. The problem with arriving after the posted start time, if the movie is new or very popular, You won’t find a seat in a good location, or enough seats together for your group, You must come early to sit where you want to, and endure all the crap.

I worked for this theater for about a year and a half – beginning one week before opening. This was considered UA’s flagship theater. We had to shine the marble tiles and polish the brass poles that held the line-control ropes. We had to wear a company-supplied jacket, bowtie, and even WHITE GLOVES. The group of people I worked with (we were all teens) became friends, and some are still friends now. A few couples who started as teen workers even ended up married. The current manager is a friend who has worked there from day one. There is an elderly woman who continues to work there since the beginning, and before that she worked at the Graham Theater in Gerritsen Beach (Mary, short with white hair).

I agree with all the other posts. The place is like a zoo. The bad design, even after renovation, leaves lines of people on top of each other as they wait for movies to start. The parking garage is a joke. I believe it holds the same number of cars the original flat parking lot held, maybe even less.

When it first opened, the front area between the seats and screen was carpeted. All the spilled soda would run down, collect in the carpet, and stink. They removed that carpet, and began shampooing the rest weekly. Now I don’t think they do that anymore, because the whole place stinks again.
The kitchen had mice. If I came in for a morning shift I’d sometimes find holes in the bags of popcorn that had been popped the night before.

The workers don’t care much about their jobs. Why should they? They are treated like sh*t and paid low wages – but that probably happens in most theaters.

At the time it was built, the building cost about 7 million dollars, if I remember correctly. The low quality building had a leaky roof that always needed repair. Theater #3, one of the largest, had to have the entire left side close during heavy rain, due to water pouring in through the foundation. It was discovered that it was caused by cracks in the cement foundation, and improper grading of the property so that water runs toward the wall when it rains. In the end the solution was to install a drainage system with a pump outside the wall, rather than regrade the property. Things like this just did not happen with the old theaters like the Marlboro, Walker, Oriental, and all the other strong, well constructed old buildings.
UA or Regal or whoever they are now should sell this place so it can be converted to a storage facility or warehouse, and reopen the Marlboro, Walker, and any other old theater that is left around Brooklyn that has a chance of being save or converted back to it’s grand old purpose!!!

JJ Fink.. A good rule of thumb is to arrive for the movie a good 10 minutes AFTER the posted time. If a movie starts at, lets say 4.30, it will actually begin at 4.40. This way you will not have to watch none of “The 20”, and n maybe only one trailer. Works for me everytime. Also, regarding “bootleg” movies . I recently purchased “Robots”, “Sahara”,and “Star Wars- Revenge of the Sith”-even though I saw it on the big screen the other day, and the quality of these coppies are pretty good, and watchable. Even though I DO NOT advocate their sale, the quality has improved from the bootleg version of “Titanic” where the videotaper got the heads of the theater patrons on the recording!

It worked for Famous Players because they recently extended their $9.95 or less for all theatres all times here in the Toronto area. They used to charge $13.95 (CDN) for all theatres except a few that were already lower prices. I think they should have lowered it to $9.00 as some theatre chains in Quebec have. Cineplex Odeon still charges $13.95 for a few of their biggest multiplexes here.