Rebooting the Movies With iPic Theaters

At this point, it’s socially acceptable to admit you don’t go to the movies anymore. You can’t pour an oversized glass of wine at the movies, get under the covers, and pull your snuggle buddy (significant other, body pillow, or box of pizza) in close. Seriously, you pay like $13 and you can’t even lay down. In the age of streaming, who would opt for sticky floors, annoying hordes, and high-priced popcorn?

Well, for those who just can’t give up on the allure of seeing a film in the theater, there is an up-and-coming player set on revamping the game. iPic Theaters, in combining contemporary trends, like farm-to-glass cocktails, opulent comforts, and conscientious service, aim to bring their customers an “affordable luxury” experience that, hopefully, gets people to the movies once again.

The Dobbs Ferry location, their 16^th in 10 states with apparently 20 more in development, opens May 5 at Rivertowns Square. Also on site will be iPic’s concept restaurant City Perch Kitchen + Bar, although you can order food and drink from the theater directly to your seats (with premium plus seating, more on that later), so you have the choice of dinner and a movie or dinner at the movies.

The food on the theater menu was conceived to minimize smell and need for utensils, but not necessarily at the expense of quality. Filet mignon sliders, lobsters rolls, and a Caesar salad you can eat by hand are all exceptional, especially when paired with the creative farm-to-glass cocktails curated by their corporate-level Master Bartender Adam Seger.

Getting back to the seats, there are two options: premium and premium plus. Premium, the luxury equivalent of the neck-breaking first two rows of a regular theater, offers a choice of regular seating, albeit still rather comfortable, and chaise lounge seating, a large lounge chair that is reclined all the way back. Attendees in these seats can purchase fare at the food counter and bring it to their seats.

Premium plus requires one of the two membership options, Purple, which is absolutely free, and Sapphire, $30 a year. The nuances of either can be found on their website, but what really matters is these guests have access to the maximum-comfort seating pods: a state-of-the-art pair of private seats with sound-absorbing walls, full-leg recliner seats, courtesy blankets and pillows, unlimited popcorn, and the option to have a “ninja” server come to your seat throughout the length of the film.

Most of the seating options are geared more for a date night, or a small group of friends, instead of, say, a crowd of kids. Still, while most will argue there’s no beating a solid Netflix and chill session, a theater that caters to that many whims (and gives free blankets) is probably worth checking out at least once.