AMC Theatres Montgomery Mall update (Photos)

The first official AMC Theatres "coming soon" signage is now up at Westfield Montgomery Mall. Inside the theater lobby, you can see that AMC Theatres ticket kiosks have been installed, as preparations continue for the expected opening next month of the AMC Montgomery 16.

I think the AMC brand is going to be a positive for the mall, as it has more name recognition than ArcLight Cinemas did. ArcLight provided an enjoyable, high-quality and unique moviegoing experience when it first opened at the mall. But over time, it shed nearly all of the selling points the brand was based on - special cocktails for big movies, the giant image wall in the lobby that featured the current blockbuster release, the movie costumes and props display across from the concessions stand, and the barring of entrance to the auditorium once the film had started. 

By the end, the only things left were the lack of commercials before the movie, and the cap on the number of trailers shown, both of which I found disconcerting and disappointing, respectively. There was a blank screen with a static, abstract, blurred image, and some kind of funereal background music, more suited to a seance than a night at the movies. This was good if you were planning on an in-depth conversation with your seatmate(s), but tedious and boring if not. And the trailers were almost always not targeted to the audience for the film being screened, which is usually not the case at other chains.

Finally, ArcLight did not have leather recliners, which are now ubiquitous nationwide. This could be overlooked when the theater was providing a top-notch experience in the early years, and they were surprisingly comfortable for ponderous, three-hour movies. But once there weren't any super hero cocktails, and people were doing the "excuse-me" high-step in front of your face 15 minutes into the movie, the immobility of those increasingly-stained cloth seats could no longer be ignored!

Expect AMC to replace those with recliners over time, if not before the grand opening next month. The recliners are so much a part of their branding now, it would be a glaring exception if they didn't offer them soon. Just before the pandemic hit, AMC was providing perhaps the top moviegoing experience in Montgomery County at its Rio Lakefront cineplex, with an expansive Dine-In menu (not expected to be at this location so far), film-related cocktails at the lobby bar, IMAX, and something else foreign to ArcLight - lobby promo stand-ups for future films. With plenty of room for the latter in the expansive lobby here, cinephiles have much to look forward to at the new AMC Montgomery 16.