Movie Theaters Near the Staten Island Ferry

If you are a native Staten Islander who travels on the Staten Island ferry for business or pleasure, and you're looking to catch a movie, here are some of the theaters closest to you.

United Artist Court Street Stadium 12-108 Court St., Brooklyn, NY 11201

A short subway trip from the ferry on the 4, 5, 2, 3, N, R, M (Borough Hall), A, C, E, or F (Jay Street-Borough Hall) trains, the theater offers online ticketing through Fandango and is a part of Regal's affinity program, wherein you can accrue points towards rewards like free tickets, drinks, or popcorn every time you visit. The theater has a wide variety of food: popcorn, hot dogs, nachos, pizza, cinnamon pretzels, and pretzel bites. It also has stadium seating in each of its twelve theaters. It's near a Barnes & Noble, where many congregate before the movies. There are some decent dining options: fast food places, Queen Italian Restaurant (two thumbs up), a number of good restaurants on Montague Street a couple of blocks away, and some decent bars like O'Keefe's. And the bathrooms are kept relatively clean.

That's the good news. The theater attracts a younger and raucous crowd (e.g. for the premiere of Notorious, I saw two police vans parked outside and counted at least one officer stationed on each floor). The ushers are young, mostly high schoolers. Customer service is scarce. The theater also never dispatches anyone to come into the theater and check on the patrons, unless there's an altercation (and sometimes not even then). Routinely, the escalators to the upper floors do not work. At least two ticket kiosks are always down.

Films run from about 11 to 10 Monday through Thursday and from 11 til 1 am on Friday or Saturday.

The Brooklyn Heights Cinemas 70 Henry St., Brooklyn, NY 11201

This small theater generally shows films in limited release. It has two screens. The theaters are rather small and cramped; there's not much leg room. There also is not an online seating option. There are not a lot of concession options, just your basic popcorn, some candies, and soda. But it's a theater with a nice intimate feel.

Films generally run from about noon or 2 until about 9:30. The theater attracts an older crowd. It's surrounded by great restaurants such as Siggys or Henry Street Ale House. It's quite close to the Clark Street station stop (2 and 3 trains), as well as the A, C, E. It's also about a fifteen minute walk from the 4, 5, N, R, and M trains.

Cobble Hill Cinema 265 Court St., Brooklyn, NY 11231

Cobble Hill Cinema features some popular films and some indie flicks on its screens. It's a small theater; it's larger than Henry Street, but it feels much more cramped. Often you will find yourself waiting outside the theater until about ten minutes before show time because of the theater's small lobby. This is not great: the theater fills up quickly, leaving you with little time to purchase popcorn, soda, or candy, or even sometimes, just find a decent seat. There's also no online ticket buying option on Fandango, but there is one on MovieTickets.com.

The films generally run from about 12 or 1 until 10:00 at night. The theater is about ten minutes away from United Artist Court Street Stadium, and so is accessible by the 4, 5, 2, 3, N, R, M, A, C, E, or F trains.

Regal Battery Park Stadium, 102 North End Avenue, New York, NY 10281

Regal lies just off the West Side Highway. There's not much near it: some office buildings, the East River, the highway, Stuyvesant High School, Borough of Manhattan Community College. It's somewhat near Chambers Street, accessible from the A, C, E or 1, 2 or 3 trains. The theater, like its Brooklyn counterpart, offers online ticketing through Fandango and is a part of Regal's affinity program, wherein you can accrue points towards rewards like free tickets, drinks, or popcorn every time you visit. Like Court Street, the theater has a wide variety of food: popcorn, hot dogs, nachos, pizza, cinnamon pretzels, and pretzel bites. It also has stadium seating in each of its twelve theaters.

Unlike Court Street, the ushers are extremely professional and courteous. There are few disruptions, even on the opening night of popular films. Ushers regularly check the theater's conditions. The theater is always clean and in good repair. And it attracts a pretty mixed crowd in terms of age, gender and ethnicity.

The one drawback is that there dining in the area isn't great. There's an Applebee's, a Chevy's and Lili's Noodle Shop right next door. I'd only recommend the later. For anything else, you have to walk out of the complex the theater is in and cross the West Side Highway. But this is a far better choice than Court Street.

BAM Rose Cinemas, 30 Lafayette Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11217

This theater is actually part and parcel of the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Performing Arts Center. You have the option of attending theater and dance performances as well as movies. There's an in-house restaurant and bar as well. This may be your best choice as there are multiple entertainment options here.

The theater itself has four screens and is open every day of the year. The theaters are pretty spacious, and kept quite clean. Screened films include both popular films and indie films; they usually begin at about noon or 2 and run until about ten. While there's no ticketing via Fandango, you can buy tickets at MovieTickets.com. There is a Red Carpet Rewards Club affinity program as well for regular attendees. By subway, you can get there by the M, N, R, W to Pacific St; or the Q, 1, 2, 4, 5 to Atlantic Avenue.