AMC Loews Kips Bay 15

True, it was a record breaking weekend at the box office and we knew to expect crowds for The Dark Knight, which we'd bought tickets for the previous week online. But we had no idea the kind of suffering we'd be forced to endure while waiting. After waiting for a short while in the cool, clean lobby, we were ushered inside-- not into the theater itself but into a "holding cell" in the hallway-- a roped off area in which we were clustered together and made to stand for an hour and a half. There was no air conditioning in the hallway and so all of us were sweating like pigs. I can only imagine what would have happened if any senior citizens were made to wait-- they probably would have collapsed from heat stroke. In fact, our collective body heat was so intense that it set off the fire alarm. (The huge amount of people standing in such a tiny space, meanwhile, was almost certainly a fire code violation.) During this time we were given no info about when we would be let into the theater, nor were any apologies for the extreme heat or discomfort offered. My friend found the number for the manager and called to complain; he didn't even realize the heat was still a problem. Things only got worse. When our friend who was working late arrived, one of us left to fetch him but an employee refused to let them back into the line. They even pointed out the sweat stains that were on his shirt, clearly showing that he'd been waiting with everyone else. While my friends were finally allowed back, this was only after an extended argument during which an employee physically pushed my (petite female) friend. Our tremendous relief at finally being allowed into the theater wasn't enough to offset the overall misery of the experience. I should note that the theater itself wasn't even terribly cool, and that when one of us contacted the head manager for this location, he said that he was appalled at what went on while he was away-- meaning he was ON VACATION for this huge opening weekend! I will never, ever visit this theater again and hope that enough of us were put off of it to make a significant dent in their business.