Cinema Kings Highway
711 Kings Highway,
Brooklyn,
NY
11223
711 Kings Highway,
Brooklyn,
NY
11223
13 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Brandt Theaters
Architects: Benjamin Schlanger
Styles: Streamline Moderne
Previous Names: Jewel Theatre
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- Dec 8, 2011 — Come for the smut, but stay for the classics
The 650-seat Jewel Theatre, which stands a few blocks west of the Kingway Theatre, was opened in 1936. It later became a foreign film house until it was damaged by fire in the 1960’s.
It was completed renovated and reopened as the Cinema Kings Highway with an exclusive Brooklyn showing of "Thoroughly Modern Millie." But in the late-1960’s, the owner found he could make a lot more money running XXX and played "He and She" there for over a year.
The story goes that he ran off with all of the profits and the theatre fell into a dispute over the ownership. Before video shut it down, it was split into two theatres, with regular porn running downstairs and gay porn running in the small balcony. It reopened as a triplex, featuring XXX straight porn in one theatre, gay porn in the second, and obscure foreign classics in the third. This was basically the programming policy. By 2017 it was operating with 4 screens. It was closed on March 16, 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The owner sold the building in the summer of 2021 and the closure became permanent.
Contributed by
philipgoldberg
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Recent comments (view all 239 comments)
It’s going to be interesting to see which theaters actually survive the pandemic. I’ve seen reports of AMC ones with expired or expiring leases will not. The possibility that AMC as a totality would go out of business was also mentioned.
It’s Labor Day week and I am on vacation from work and thinking of visiting after almost a year. I’ve read conflicting reports… Is it open or is it not open ??? Before I make my trip can someone let me know. I remember this one hot Italian guy there who use to get up and show off in his briefs. Hope he’s there if it’s open. Please let me know
It’s shuttered and locked. Whoever used to, or still does, own or manage this place, I hope you resurrect Cinema King’s Highway.
Too bad it’s currently closed. I had some great meetings there(and some not so great).My favorite part of the theatre was the top floor (what use to be the balcony in the old days). I use to go up there to relax and no one seemed to bother you up there. There is a platform under neath the screen where a very hot Italian boy use to go up there and perform for the audience. He was just a customer and alot of guys would follow him up there just to watch him. A great exhibitionist. Does anyone remember seeing him there?
Open or still closed? Anyone pass by the theatre lately? If it’s still closed does anyone know if it will ever reopen?
This should be changed to “closed”.
The owner recently talked about having sold it: https://www.rereleasenews.com/2021/04/09/nick-nicolaou-on-the-alpine-cinema-renovations-selling-brooklyns-last-adult-theater-and-more/
A friend told me the theatre is being cleaned out. The end of an era.
is it still closed? google says its open….
The Brooklyn Cinema at 711 Kings Highway is permanently closed. It did not survive the pandemic.
Was recently sold for $3.1 million.