{"id":90645,"date":"2026-01-06T02:12:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T02:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/90645\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T02:12:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T02:12:10","slug":"thats-all-folks-look-dine-in-cinemas-shuts-down-at-via-57","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/90645\/","title":{"rendered":"That’s All Folks! LOOK Dine-In Cinemas Shuts Down at VIA 57"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hell\u2019s Kitchen has lost its far-West Side movie house \u2014 again.<\/p>\n

\"LookLook Dine-In Cinemas closed on January 4 \u2014 notices were posted on the windows this evening. Photo: Phil O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n

A printed notice taped to the doors of LOOK Dine-In Cinemas at VIA 57 (657 W57th Street, by the West Side Highway) says the theater \u201chas closed our W57 location as of January 4, 2026.\u201d The statement thanks customers for \u201cmaking this theater a meaningful part of the community,\u201d and directs moviegoers to LOOK\u2019s nearest theater in Dobbs Ferry.<\/p>\n

In the door notice, LOOK says gift cards and \u201cInfinity Club\u201d memberships will continue to be honored at its Dobbs Ferry location (1 Hamilton Street, Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522). The statement also says any existing ticket purchases will be fully refunded, and that customers who want refunds for gift cards or memberships \u2014 or who need assistance \u2014 can contact guest services at guest.services@lookcinemas.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The closure comes less than three years after LOOK reopened the eight-screen space<\/a> with a \u201cscreen-and-dine\u201d model, bringing movies back to VIA 57 after Landmark Theatres abruptly exited in August 2020<\/a> and left the building without a cinema through much of the pandemic era and beyond.<\/p>\n

The VIA 57 theater has long been something of a paradox: a luxe moviegoing experience on a stretch of the far West Side that can feel physically close to Hell\u2019s Kitchen but psychologically far \u2014 especially late at night, in bad weather, or for anyone relying on public transit. That location challenge was part of the story even before LOOK arrived. When Landmark closed in 2020, spokespeople cited the far-west site and lack of convenient transportation. The Durst Organization, which owns VIA 57, disputed that explanation at the time, and the split escalated into a legal fight, with Durst alleging Landmark owed significant back rent and removed equipment from the property when it departed.<\/p>\n

Matt Fox, co-owner of Fine and Dandy, told W42ST back in 2020 that losing Landmark had hit hard \u2014 and that getting any cinema back on that stretch of the West Side felt like a small miracle. Today, he told us that it was: \u201cSad news. It\u2019s a big loss for the neighborhood. Now we have to travel to the chaotic movie theatres of Times Square or schlep up to the Upper West Side. I have to wonder if business would have improved if they held out until the Sunset Studios at Pier 94 opened<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LookLook Dine-In Cinemas closed on January 4 \u2014 notices were posted on the windows this evening. Photo: Phil O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n

Neighborhood movie fans were thrilled when LOOK signed on to revive the space. When W42ST toured the venue ahead of its May 2023 opening, LOOK confirmed it had installed new seating and screens, and built out kitchens to support in-seat dining, while keeping the familiar front bar area that many Landmark regulars remembered as part of the classic \u201cdate night\u201d ritual.<\/p>\n

LOOK Cinemas CEO Brian Schultz told W42ST on Monday evening: \u201cWe closed yesterday, and we want to sincerely thank everyone who made LOOK at W57 such a meaningful part of the community \u2014 especially the film festivals, local events and the customers who supported us. We believe film brings communities together, and we\u2019re grateful for every memory created for our guests, teams and communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BrianLOOK Cinemas CEO Brian Schultz at the opening of the VIA 57 location in May 2023. Photo: Phil O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n

For now, it\u2019s unclear what happens next for the space, and whether another operator might step in, as LOOK once did. W42ST has reached out to The Durst Organization for comment on the closure and what plans, if any, exist for the VIA 57 theater space moving forward. <\/p>\n

For Hell\u2019s Kitchen film fans, the news lands as another reminder that the far West Side cinema dream has always been fragile \u2014 even inside one of Manhattan\u2019s most architecturally celebrated buildings. When Landmark closed, developer Douglas Durst publicly promised<\/a> the theater would return. It did. Now, it\u2019s gone again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hell\u2019s Kitchen has lost its far-West Side movie house \u2014 again. Look Dine-In Cinemas closed on January 4…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":90646,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[75,84,83,158,9,24,63,4924],"class_list":["post-90645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-movies","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-tv-movies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90645"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90645\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}