ArcLight Beach Cities

Comfortable spacious seating. I like that I can select and reserve seats in advance.
This theater is just a block away from The Point, so grabbing a movie and dinner is very convenient.
Tickets are higher than AMC at $ 16 after 6 pm, but this theater is better than the AMC at the South Bay Galleria.

This theater is great, but I’m more of an AMC moviegoer.

Favorite theatre in the South Bay! Obviously the best thing is the reserved seating. Parking is never really an issue — if nothing is available in the back you can always park across the street in the parking structure.
One thing that sucks though is that the bathroom stalls are teeny tiny. I’m petite and I find myself having to awkwardly contort my body to avoid touching the toilet while moving around lol, ew.

Decent theater especially on a day when the crowd is minimal… which typically means the bar isn’t staffed and the concession is skeleton crew. And of course the two customers before me have time consuming orders… coupons that expired and require a manager intervention and the next customer? You guessed it kids…6 of them and they all want different things, 2 are crying because the mom said no to some chocolate covered sugar bomb something or other. This is one of the reasons why I bring my own snacks… today I thought I’d splurge on a Diet Coke. Why do I make these stupid decisions?
Ah well, at least the theatre was clean and no signs of that dingy, theatre smell. Lots of parking in the rear, but it does get very, very busy during peak times. There are a few restaurants in the area so that adds to the parking mess. That said, glad I waited a couple weeks to see Star Wars.

Nice clean theater! Comfy seats. Good hot fresh bar food, the lemon drop no sugar perfect ratio of alcohol, the concession stand moves swiftly… Kind friendly service.
Enjoy!

No major complaints and all Arclight theaters deserve 5 stars for offering reserved seating. It’s so nice not having to grab a seat super early before the movie or even wait in line right outside the theater as some locations have when a movie is popular.
Yes, the ticket price is higher but it’s still worth it if you are going to see a popular movie. The theater itself also has wider seats and arm rests so you don’t have to awkwardly bump arms with a stranger sitting next to you.
This location doesn’t have a lot of self parking in the back of the theater but I learned that there is a free parking complex across the street. Or at least it was free on Xmas. I’m assuming the complex was for surrounding businesses that were closed for the holiday. But other than Xmas I don’t think this theater gets a lot of foot traffic.

Two stars is a little low given that the theater is clean, modern, etc.
But please ANSWER THE FREAKIN’ PHONE! If you buy tickets online, the only way to change anything or cancel your order is to call.
E.G. if people join or leave your group and you need to change seats or cancel a couple of seats, then you are out of luck. Changes and cancellations must be done an hour in advance by phone… which they don’t answer.

What you expect from an ArcLight — classy ambiance, diverse food options, and a plush theater.
Only drawbacks are small restrooms (there was quickly a line in the women’s room stretching out the door), and the usual greeter employee neglected to introduce the film today and warn everyone about theater behavior. This probably would have deterred the enthusiastic commentary from some of the people behind me.

Couldn’t be happier with the Arclight. I’ve been to several locations and they are all consistently outstanding. Press assigned seating is the greatest and worth the extra money. The desserts at the small restaurant are great and the concession stand popcorn is always fresh. Parking is easy and close by to the theater.

Talk about a hidden theater in LA! This ArcLight is in the mix amongst a random selection of office complexes. There’s a lot of free parking in the lot/​structure behind it & a nice area to hang out in front, with a fountain, trees and chairs.
The best thing about this theater is that it wasn’t busy when I went to see Spectre on opening weekend. If you want to get the ArcLight luxury experience but not deal with Hollywood’s shitty parking & traffic situation, come here!

I took my girlfriend to the ArcLight Cinemas in Manhattan Beach/​El Segundo on Thursday, November 19^th, 2015 to see the Steve Jobs movie. We bought our tickets at 5:24pm, about the time that the previews were finishing showing for the film. We also bought popcorn and iced tea from «Kevin P» according to our receipts.
The whole affair was just over $ 50.00, which surprised me since the theater complex was nearly empty of people, especially in the public lobby areas.
We got to our seats, immediately opened up our iced teas to find that there was absolutely no ice in them. Not a little ice, but NO ice. Not a big deal. We were in Theater 9, which is the furthest back on the east (right) side of the main theater hallway, so I had to take our two drinks as the movie had started and walk the whole length back to the concession counter, where now, «Kevin P» was helping another customer.
A manager happened to be standing next to where I walked up on the outside of the counter and asked, «How are you doing today?» I said, «Well, we just got to my seats and found no ice in our iced teas. He just stood there and said, «Well, he’ll get you some,» nodding the way of «Kevin P.»
I waited until the other customer was finished and then «Kevin P,» who had apparently heard my conversation with the manager (the manager was still standing next to me by the way), said to me, «You know, ice melts very quickly in iced tea.» I think he thought I would let go of the fact that he had forgotten my ice. I said, «No, you just didn’t put any in. We opened them up the moment we sat down, which was only three minutes ago.» He said, «Yeah, but I’ve seen it before. Ice melts very quickly. I though to myself, but didn’t say out loud, «You cowardly customer service worker. You are just saying that because you don’t want to admit you forgot to do it in front of the manager here.»
I got my iced tea cups back and went to the theater and saw the rest of the film. The ice, by the way, lasted throughout the movie. It never melted much.
Let me preface this last paragraph with the fact that I wouldn’t have given any of this another thought if I hadn’t met with resistance.
The reason this bothered me so much is, first, because ArcLight charges very high prices for their «premium» service, and that, by the way, is probably why few people were at the theater, compared to when it was owned by Pacific. Secondly, for a customer service worker to argue with me about something so obviously missed by him was just ridiculous, especially, again, because the theaters are supposed to provide «premium» service along with their premium prices. Finally, I was stupefied that the manager, who wasn’t doing anything but standing next to me, didn’t just take the iced teas from me and fill them up with ice himself.
Needless to say, I’m not giving this ArcLight my business again.

Two big thumbs up for assigned seating! I don’t feel rushed to get to the theater early and stand in a dreadful line for hours especially on an opening night. I also love that you can book online and just scan your phone when entering the theater area. So convenient! Yay for technology! Parking is located across the street but sometimes it can be a bit packed. I always find a spot so I can’t complain too much. The downfall to this theater is the concession, as all theaters are; it is super crazy expensive. But that is to be expected. The big problem I have, is their lack of open registers, which results in long wait times. While I don’t have to rush to get a seat, I do suggest coming a little early if you want snacks at the concessions because it could take a while…

You can now take your ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE bought at the bar into ANY theater with you!!! Since this privilege has been granted I can honestly say I have NOT remembered a movie I have seen there in months!
Go have a drink before they come to their senses!
ARRRRRRR, tell them the pirate sent ya!

When ArcLight first opened, it was the most elegant place to see a movie in town. Now, it seems to have kept the elegant pricing, while treating the rest of the theater like a dollar theater.
We went to a movie at 5 p.m. on a Sunday, and the restrooms looked like a bomb had went off. When I entered, there were two employees standing at the sinks, talking about their boyfriends and halfheartedly smearing water around on the counters with paper towels. Meanwhile, the restrooms stalls held nasty surprises when you opened the doors: smelly unflushed toilets, nests of shredded toilet tissue, a dirty diaper on the back of one toilet seat, etc. By the time I left, one of the employees was in a stall going to the bathroom, while the other continued to talk to her from outside.
We purchased a drink at the concession counter and I don’t think the employee smiled once. He moved so slow and acted so bored to be there, I thought he might be partially comatose. The only good thing was, compared to the rest of the ArcLight employees, he was at least making an attempt at working.
When we handed our tickets to the usher, who had yet another group of employees standing around her talking to one another, she asked to search my handbag. Seriously? This is the first time I’ve ever attended a movie where they’ve asked to look inside my purse. Clearly, if this were for safety reasons, everyone (including my husband) would be asked to empty their pockets or go through a metal detector, so I’m guessing this is motivated more by greed rather than security – ensuring you’re spending your money on their overpriced concessions and not sneaking anything in.
The hallways of the theater were only marginally better than the restroom. Huge black stains on the red carpets. Pieces of popcorn all over. Trash cans overflowing to the point people had set trash beside them. Two hours later when we left the theater, nothing had changed. Who is managing this place?
Although this is by far our nearest theater, we’ll be driving elsewhere to see the show. We’d just been to the Cinemark the day before and the contrast in quality, friendliness of the employees, and cleanliness was incredible. To sum up, the Arclight Beach Cities is now a below average place to see a movie, but if you’re looking for a job, it’s an amazing place to work – obviously you won’t have to do a thing!

This is our go-​to local movie theater. As parents with young children who cannot always be on time, let alone early, to get good seats at the movies, the convenience of pre-​purchasing your exact seat cannot be overstated. Yes, it is more expensive than other theaters, but I am willing to pay more so that my date night is not ruined by breaking my neck in the front row.
It is a very nice and clean theater and they show all of the latest movies with multiple showing times. The snack bar could have more options, but we usually only get popcorn and a candy if that.
I am deducting one star for staff stupidity because one time we arrived less than 5 minutes after the start of a movie and we could no longer buy the ticket on the automated screen. So we asked one of the employees if he could sell us a ticket and he said no that they are not allowed to sell tickets after the start of the movie. Seriously? It was not sold out and we were ok with being 3 minutes late. I asked him if he could sell us another ticket and just let us in and he said he could not do so — they have a policy against it. I cannot handle people who are unable to use their own common sense and good judgment because of an arbitrary company policy. Rather than engage this person, my husband and I just purchased tickets for another movie and then went into the one we wanted to see — which was practically empty and the opening credits were still rolling.

ArcLight Beach Cities is one of my favorite movie theaters, second only to the full reclining/​full service theaters. However, ArcLight is much better priced then them. ArcLight also shows almost all new releases with more times, because they are a larger theater.
One of the best things about this theater is there are no commercials, just previews.
There is a small eatery in the theater in addition to the concession stand. It’s good if you want to grab a drink before your show starts.
The theater is pretty clean and the employees are nice.
I always park in the structure across Nash Street designated for the movie theater, because the lot right by them is really packed.

This theater checks all the boxes: clean, a mostly adult audience and super comfy seats.
Since nobody in L.A. knows what to do with themselves when it rains, there was quite a crowd at the theater this evening and it was difficult to find parking. The kiosks were also extremely crowded and it seems like nobody knows how to use a touchscreen. Sigh.
The theaters are small and a whole lot cleaner than your usual sticky floors and standard, scratchy seats. I appreciated the employee who stood at the front before the movie and introduced himself, the movie and laid out a few rules. It was a nice personal touch.
A few other reviewers have mentioned how great it is that you get to pick your seat. I agree– somewhat. When I walked in, there was someone in my seat. She apologized and moved one seat over when I showed them my ticket. Cool. When my boyfriend came in he took the seat next to me, since our seats were together. Then a huge group of five people comes in and it turns out the people next to us who already moved once are STILL in the wrong seats! So we had to perform more seat shuffling before everyone was finally in the right place. I’m guessing the morons who kept having to move did have assigned seats but didn’t like them and decided to pick their own. Not cool.
Overall, our experience at the Arclight was a good one. We’ll definitely be back.

Friendly knowledgable staff.
Better prices if you’re a member.
Bar in the lobby with wine beer liquor and fancy snacks.
Regular snack bar too.
All hot movies.
Near tons of restaurants.
Comfy seating.
Buy in advance to reserve your specific seats.

I really appreciate a movie theater that’s clean, it’s actually quite hard to find now-​a-​days. The only thing that bugs me about this and pretty much all theater’s is that they allow small children into pretty explicit or highly violent movies just because they are accompanied by their parents.
ArcLight has a long tradition of having a great, relaxing atmosphere. I do love the bar right as you walk into the location and I do find that their concession stands offer a great variety of movie snacks. I especially love the standard buttered popcorn in which the midway point is doused in butter as well as the very top of the bucket which allows for a very heart friendly experience. The prices do seem higher than say Regal but once again you are paying for what you get, the quality is better and the butter doesn’t taste as artificial as most theaters.
What’s strange about this ArcLight is that it was pretty much all redone once it became an ArcLight but the bathrooms remain the same, they are so dirty all of the time, no matter what time of day or night they are always filthy. This is by no means the fault of the janitorial staff I believe it’s the fault of the general public, people are gross — especially women do they make that kind of mess in their own bathrooms? But I digress, ArcLight is by far my favorite theater and I would pay much more if they had several all times of day no kid movie options.

This place has a ton of potential but needs new management. Or some competition.
It’s got great infrastructure. Online booking for advanced seats, nice screens and sound — but the wait at the concessions is so long you just give up. One might think they would work hard to take $ 10 for a box of popcorn, but not at ArcLight.
And god help you if you want a Latte.
I don’t know how management could watch their staff take their time, chat amongst themselves, laughing as they watch lengthy lines gather while vacant registers remain closed and customers, walking — but its the same at service, ticketing, bar, café or concessions.