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On Thursday December 19, beloved Williamsburg movie theater Nitehawk will officially begin its Park Slope conquest with the launch of a brand-new, seven-screen, 650-seat movie theater, boasting two bars, a balcony, and, of course, all the dine-in goodies you could enjoy while stoned at the movies (or is that just me?).
Park Slope cinephiles will know the location well, as it used to be home to the grimy, gunky Prospect Park Pavilion, which closed in 2016. I'll always cherish my memories of shivering through Jennifer Lopez's The Boy Next Door during a blizzard, in a theater with no working heater. Or, during Joy with Jennifer Lawrence, walking up to reapply the scotch tape holding the screen together. Sure, it was a dump, but it was a charming dump, the kind of establishment where you could jump from movie to movie without any of the staff or owners giving a damn.
Photograph: Courtesy Sakeenah Saleem
We expected the cleanup and revamp to be a doozy, but the new opening was drastically delayed when the Nitehawk team discovered a buried balcony, plaster art and a flight of marble stairs from the 1920s, back when the space was known as the Marathon—and later as the Sanders—theater. The gorgeous finds have been reconfigured into the new space's art-deco vibe, giving it some sense of authenticity amid the surrounding paved-over gentrification.
The new space is nearly triple the size of its Williamsburg counterpart, and the bar and balcony overlook the park. You can count on a similar menu (I love those margaritas) and an even wider slate of movies. It's basically a home run for a date night in NYC. You can start booking your tickets here.