ArcLight Cinemas Wins Liquor License, Sets Nov. 7 for Opening

The California-based ArcLight Cinemas received its beer, wine and liquor license this week as the newcomer to Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda approaches its Nov. 7 opening date.

As Patch previously reported ArcLight will bring a 16-screen, state-of-the-art movie complex to the area 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, 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.”

Montgomery County’s Board of License Commissioners granted the license to serve alcohol last week, reports Bethesda Magazine. The theaters feature all-reserved seating, a cafe and movie props.