Seats Taken: New Recliners Snarl Plans at New Lenox Movie Theatre

NEW LENOX, IL — Moviegoers might want to leave a little early for the New Lenox AMC Theatre, as the recent installation of reclining seats has caused some seating snafus.

Since the switch from 2,430 spots to 1,152 larger, power-operated leather recliners, customers (full disclosure: your Patch editor included) have been agitated to find that arriving during the previews might not cut it. In fact, plan on getting there up to a half hour before showtime to guarantee a seat, one employee told Patch Editor Lauren Traut. Disappointed patrons sat outside Saturday evening, having to sit out their specific showings.

Viewers will soon be able to reserve seats when purchasing tickets, but until then you won't know that there's no room until after you've shelled out the cash. If there's even one seat in the theatre, it won't alert the system to the show being sold-out or unable to accommodate all the members of your party. [Editor's Note: they happily switched out our tickets for a later showtime that evening.]

AMC has tackled the project one side of the building at a time, with the first set debuting earlier this summer.

"It's a temporary situation until they finish the other half of the construction," said Mayor Tim Baldermann. "We appreciate AMC reinvesting in our community and hope people will be patient. It'll be worth any inconvenience."

The new seats are a hot ticket in the industry—they're also coming to Marcus Cinemas in Orland Park and Country Club Hills. Before their installation, guests of the New Lenox cinema griped that the old seats weren't comfy enough.

"Decent place to go but the new and up and coming custom theaters will have my business," wrote one Yelp reviewer in March 2016, of the New Lenox location. "Uncomfortable seating and lower quality sound and screens need to be updated to compete. I only go here cause it's close by. Time to modernize your theater or get left behind. Sad because overall I like AMC."

The theatre has also added a bar, and will begin selling alcohol August 12. Only ticket-holders will be able to access the bar, and an "extensive alcohol control policy" limits sales to one glass per customer per trip to the bar. Every person must show ID, so no sending your buddy to fetch you a beer.

New Lenox is the latest to think bigger for the big screen. Frankfort this spring approved a "luxury movie theatre" brought to town by Emagine Entertainment. The Michigan-based company will move into vacant space previously occupied by Dominick's, at 19965 S. LaGrange Rd. The 75,000-square-foot location will house 10 screens and approximately 1,300 powered reclining chairs.

Which theatre will you frequent?