A 12-screen ArcLight cinema complex opens today on the third level of Santa Monica Place, complete with a full bar, café, and concessions. Guests 21-years and over can enjoy wine, beer, and cocktails in the lounge and during screenings.
All auditoriums have stadium seating; two have Dolby Atmos, which is the latest sound technology in the industry.
Among the unique perks: adults over the age of 21 can bring their alcohol purchased at the ArcLight bar into any of the auditoriums.
Steven Ramskill, ArcLight Cinemas Senior Manager Theatre Business, said ArcLight was grounded in making every movie better.
“We’re really about creating an environment in which once our guests sit in the auditorium, they are really ready to decompress and immerse themselves in the movie,” Ramskill said. “We believe filmmakers and producers put a lot of sweat and hard work into creating the films, and we’re trying to create an environment in which our guests can really experience the movies in the way they were intended by the filmmakers.”
He said ArcLight sets out to achieve this through a combination of everything that leads up to the movie experience itself.
“With our website, we try to create ease, comfort, and control for our guests going through arclightcinemas.com to reserve your ticket in advance,” he said. “So when you arrive, you’ve got your ticket, you know where you’re sitting, and it’s really about enjoying the ArcLight experience. That includes our retail space in our lobby, our café bar where guests can meet friends for a cocktail or appetizer before or after the movie, or enjoy food or beverages from our concession stand that includes our signature Caramel Popcorn which we make on site fresh every day.”
He said its concession stand is unique, with a number of gourmet items such as its baguettes.
“We have a variety of chicken and apple baguettes and jalapeno and apple baguettes,” he said. “I’m looking to work with the Farmers Market in Santa Monica to see if we can incorporate some of our local butchers to see if we can bring in some organic sausages and continue to expand our fare. We’re very much focused on community. For our café offering, our Ahi Tuna poke is one of our signature items as well as our popcorn chicken. They’re designed to be shared plates or appetizers; ArcLight Santa Monica isn’t about ‘hey, let’s go for a full sit down meal.’ It’s about let’s go for a drink or a cocktail and have a few light bites to compliment that experience.”
Santa Monica City Council approved the development agreement to bring the ArcLight complex to the Bloomingdale’s building at Santa Monica Place in April 2014, making it the first cinema complex to be built in the City since the 1980s. The complex took over a vacant space on the third level of the building.
