ArcLight Cinemas Eases Into Bethesda Opening

The California-based ArcLight Cinemas will begin opening its location at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda this weekend as it approaches its Nov. 7 opening date.

As Patch previously reported ArcLight will bring a 16-screen, state-of-the-art movie complex to Westfield, with the mall’s current three-screen cinema converted to retail shops.

The theaters charge a “premium” ticket price – about 20 percent more than conventional theaters – for amenities including reserved seating, commercial-free movies, beer and wine, gourmet food and Q&As with filmmakers.

The Bethesda complex will also boast “extra-wide stadium seating with double armrests, [a] no late seating policy and [a] ‘cinema-focused’ gift shop,” along with a lounge adjacent to each theater where patrons 21 and older can sip on beer, wine and cocktails during select screenings.

The theater will screen a mix of movies from independent art house fare and cult classics to Hollywood blockbusters.

Gretchen McCourt, executive vice president of ArcLight, told BethesdaNow during a sneak peek that patrons appreciate the chain’s policy of not showing advertisements before movies, although a few trailers are shown before each film.

There also is no box office at ArcLight. Instead, most of the theater’s ticket sales are done online or through a mobile phone app. Seating is pre-reserved, the media site says, so there are a few electronic kiosks to purchase or print tickets in the lobby.

“The goal is to honor the love of moviegoing and remove all the hassles,” McCourt told the Washington Business Journal.

Patrons can stop by the ArcLight’s lounge before or after a flick to snack on cheese and charcuterie boards, as well as shared plates, the newspaper reports. The theater also has a full bar offering signature cocktails.