Pavilion Cinema

BEYOND DISGUSTING!!! Can not believe the health department allows this place to keep going. We left before the movie even started. STAY AWAY! Never ever have we been to a theater this repulsive. It should absolutely be shut down. This is our first Unilocal review ever, and it felt important to warn people to STAY AWAY! Beyond the bed bugs this place is unbelievably gross.

I’ve heard that this theater has reclining chairs, well they were wrong. I was counting on the pop corn but that’s also horrible, it’s burnt and tastes bad. The only good thing about this theater is that the prices are low. Might sneak in food next time…

After taking my sister to see a movie here a few weeks ago, I was a little embarrassed! The seats are mostly falling apart/​pretty janky, and the whole theater basically has the feel of something run-​down and discarded. When we sat down to see our movie the lights were on in the theater, so we were able to really take in all of the busted nature of the seats and room in its full glory. Trash and popcorn was scattered about, and many seats were off-​kilter (in my mind also stuffing was coming out of some of them, but that may be embellishment from my memory…). My sister had wanted to go somewhere that had Lazy Boy recliners on the UWS and was pretty disappointed with this theater. However, all that being said, the tickets are fairly cheap for NYC, and the staff is friendly and responsive (we had to ask for the lights to be turned off and for the movie to start… but after we asked, they did that quickly?). Honestly, I think the most redeeming quality about this theater may just be that it is very conveniently located close to Krupa Grocery, where you can get a super delicious meal.

I regret coming here. This movie theater is disgusting. They do no clean after the movie is done, besides the fact that the employees have nasty attitudes. I’m scared to just sit here

DO NOT COME TO THIS THEATER!!! The most disgusting movie theater. Horrible experience. It smells and the staff members are completely rude and disrespectful… if there was an option for zero stars, I would choose that. They were so rude to us in front of our students. We gave this theater more business than they deserve and they represented themselves horribly. PLEASE DO NOT CONTINUE TO PATRONIZE THIS BUSINESS. !!!

I was in dingy theatre room 8 seeing Mother’s Day. A few minutes into the movie I saw a RAT run across the middle isle. A large rat! I saw it run by again and I ran out the theatre. When I told the woman at the front, she didn’t seem very surprised. Seemed as though the workers heard this complaint before. The woman said. So what do you want? Your money back?
Do not use this facility. It should be shut down. Health inspectors need to shut this filthy rat infested place down.

This Theatre is a disgrace! Save your money or donate it but don’t waste it going to that Theatre! It is FILTHY dirty, The screen has tears that are barely patched up and very visible, The seats are squeaking at the slightest movement and it is ridiculously overpriced! The screens are super small and the sound quality is very poor!
All in all this is the worst Theatre experience i’ve ever had!

Very disappointed. Used to be my favorite theater as a teenager, 13 years later I come to realize how beat up and neglected it is. Broken faucets in the bathroom, mediocre hygiene, damaged ceilings… c

Literally the worst movie theater known to man. If you can, I would just chop off your finger and film the whole process. That would be a better movie experience.
No AC
Not clean — popcorn and junk everywhere
Broken seats
Unfriendly staff
Please pick another theater. You’ve been warned.

Wow. A theater that smells like the inside of my teen brother’s bedroom. «Comfy» seating that’s patched and torn and not cleaned and non-​adjustable (they’re meant to recline). No café visible. Very low grade.

I’d give zero stars if I could. I’m at the matinée and there’s popcorn between the seats dirty napkins in the cup holders. The seats are torn and the recliners won’t recline. I doubt I’ll come here again unless there’s major renovations done.

I wondered if the ceiling was going to cave in during our movie. Does the fire department know about this place?
Truly shocking that this place is open.
By the way, the toilet seat is still on the ground in the bathroom, just in a different place.

On the spectrum of mom-​and-​pop independent theaters – where on one side of the spectrum is «charmingly imperfect» and the other side is «shit-​hole fire hazard with floors made of rat fur stuck to gum stuck to rotting wood” – the Pavilion errs mightily to the side of «shit hole.»
As this is the only movie theater in the neighborhood, I’ve been to a couple of screenings here over the past year, in spite of the consistently horrible reviews. And in spite of the issues with climate control, the spooky, ill-​kept stairwells, and horrible sound systems (no, seriously… painful), I didn’t bother leaving a negative review. 250+ people had already done that job for me.
But today the Pavilion took their eagerly-​displayed mastery of *not giving two fucks* to a whole new level.
I decided to treat myself to a showing of Deadpool today, so I checked a popular movie listings website (rhymes with boovee rickets dot com) and found a 11:00a showtime at the Pavilion. Imagine my confusion when I got to the box office at the theater and the attendant – who couldn’t bother to even look at me – said, «Deadpool’s not showing at 11am. Only showing today is at 3:40.»
Me: «That’s strange; I saw an 11:00am showtime on [very popular movie listings website]».
Attendant: «Yeah, you can’t use Google or anything. You have to go to our website.»
…but you specifically have to imagine her using a tone that suggests that I’m clearly an idiot for having relied upon anything other than their janky website for finding movie showtimes.
So the Pavilion theater doesn’t bother updating ANY of the resources that people use when they WANT TO FIND MOVIE SHOWTIMES. They presumably only bother updating their website.
EXCEPT THEY DON’T. I subsequently DID visit the Pavilion theater website, and GUESS WHAT. Under today’s showtimes, Deadpool is listed as a movie available at their theater… but it had zero showtimes listed next to it. So it either is showing at 3:40 today and they don’t want anyone to know it, or it’s not showing at all today and even the people who work there have zero idea what’s going on.
You have one (two-​part) job, Pavilion movie theater: Tell people when movies will be showing at your theater, and then show movies at those times.
Job: FAILED.
In the list of my very-​first-​world problems today, having spent any time at all dealing with the Pavilion theater in Park Slope is at the top.

Alright people, half the fun of coming to this theater is how crazy it is. It’s such a weirdo local theater and sometimes that is exactly what you need.
Walking up just like… ALL the stairs (seriously so many stairs) to get to the top theaters, the stairs are run down, the walls are all cracked, you think maybe a ghost is going to come out at you. Sometimes the volume on the movies is TOO DAMN LOUD and it’s scary and you’re like what the hell is happening somebody help me. And the clearly abandoned second floor «arcade» area that looks like something out of a spooky 90’s Disney Channel Original Movie.
Sometimes when you get to your theater there is no one in there with you, the screen isn’t even on. Nothing is on, you think to yourself «Is this even a working theater? Is anyone here? Did ghosts just let me in? AM I THE GHOST?» But then someone kicks on the projector and you’re up and running!
Sometimes the climate control is wackadoo and it’s too hot… or too cold! And you tell the staff and they SIGH and they’re like YES. I WILL FIX IT. CAN YOU RELAXE. And you do. Because you heard somewhere that when ghosts appear it messes with the temperature. And because you’re here to see a MOVIE. A movie that is WAY too loud you and you are wearing your headphones to pad the sound a little bit.
Now I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking «Hey now. I only get so much time to go to the movies. I have to pay all this money for an experience that I DON’T EVEN LIKE and will possibly be really disgusting and supernatural?» And yes. Yes you do. Because this is Brooklyn, and you CAN’T LIKE NICE THINGS YOU DAMN SELLOUT.
All this aside I DO actually like this theater. It’s old school, reminds me of another busted up small screened theater back home. We’ve all got great memories at places like this. So basically what I’m saying here is go to this theater when you are in the mood to NOT be at a franchise. Go to this theater when you are seeing a film you just don’t really care about. Go when you’re a ghostbuster… and you need to bust some ghosts.
What I’m saying is I think this place is haunted.

I had not been to this theatre in years. They were supposed to do major renovations. Went in December of 2015 to see In The Heart of the Sea. The only thing i noticed they fixed up was the concession stand on the second floor
The staff looked like they would rather be anywhere but there. The manager and the ticket seller had expressions as if they just smelled rotten eggs.
Theatres are very drafty and run down. You can actually see the daylight coming through the cracks and dents in the doors in the back of one of the theatres. Felt like i was sitting in someones attic that hadnt been cleaned in 50 years
Everyone is better off heading to Court Street to see a movie if you want to stay in Brooklyn. If not make the trip to Manhattan far better theatres there.
I will never return to this theatre

Pitch dark when you walk into the theater, so you’ll need to use the flash light on your phone just to find a seat. After sitting in total darkness waiting for your movie to start, your eyes start to get used to the darkness, which is then jarring when lights are unintentionally flashed in your eyes from other patrons trying to find a seat.
The screen itself is also pretty terrible, with a matrix of black dots visible since you’re sitting so close to the screen in the small theaters. Smudges, rips, and other items also can be seen on the screen.
Overall, not a great experience.

Not a date theater or if you were looking for a theater with any quality. Ramshackle would best describe it. Went to see an IMAX movie that turned out to be the size of living room. I guess if you would like to use drugs at the theater or you want to steal a 2^nd movie this might be just the right kind of movie theater for you.

Terrible experience. The theater was unpleasantly overheated and the sound quality was awful. Most of the speakers weren’t working so parts of the dialogue and most of the musical underscore were missing. I went out fifteen minutes into the movie to draw the attention of a manager to the issue and was told they would fix it. They didn’t. I complained at the end of the movie and was met with indifference. I won’t be returning!

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This place was a CLASS ACT!
As a little girl I would come here with my mom as a treat, Back then the place was fabulous. The PRAVILION had a candy bar and sit in café .The carpets were clean and shiney. Each theater was in mint condition. The concession stand in the front was always stocked with fresh popped corn and other delectable goodies that would make your mouth water from just the sight alone. This theater was always packed!
Once upon a time the Pravilion was twice as beautiful on the inside than its’ exterior. My mother and I shared so many memories here. This is how I would like the remember the Pravilion .
Its a shame that most of you will never know this place as intimately as I once did you’re connected in any way to the owner or employees.

If it were up to me I wouldn’t give this place a single star! 1^st husband and I ordered a large popcorn and large drink. Upon receiving the popcorn and waiting for my change I ate a few kernels and it was stale! So I asked for either a fresh bag of popcorn or give me my money back. They told me they do not make fresh popcorn and that I would have to pick something else or they can give me another bag of popcorn see if it’s not stale bc they do not give money back. Had to get a manager involved to get my money back. So after getting my money back we walk up to the theater and it is just disgusting. Get into the theater and it smells like urine and trash everywhere!! This place is so disgusting I was scared a rat was going to pop out of somewhere. By far the worse movie theater I have ever been to. Never again!

Tonight, my son and I went to the Pavillion Theater in Park Slope, Brooklyn to see The Hateful Eight which is listed on the Fandango website for a 6 PM showing. There was no showing at that time. When I complained, the manager informed me that The Pavillion had no affiliation with Fandango and that «the movie times on Fandango are usually wrong.» (exact quote)
Perhaps The Pavillion should inform Fandango that they don’t want its showtimes listed on their site. It would offer less frustration to customers, and The Pavillion clearly would rather not have their movies listed by Fandango.
PS
That was a better experience than the last time I went to The Pavillion, to see The Big Short a couple of weeks ago. One of the projectors was broken, making the film dark and difficult to see. When I mentioned that to the manager tonight he replied, «Well, the projectors are working now.» Frankly, as an avid movie goer, I would hope that the theaters who projected the movies I went to, and paid for, would care more about their quality.

I don’t know, there’s a banana peel in the seat next to me. I think that says enough about it. It’s funny because they kept us out of the theatre because they were cleaning it. Again, I’m sitting next to a banana peel and there are piles of garbage everywhere. The sounds system is also garbage. There’s a high pitched tone coming from the left side. No bass, all treble. 5 minutes into the previews I left and got a refund. No question this theatre could be a community asset, they’re either so mired in debt they can’t upgrade more than 1 screening room or they just don’t care.

Here’s how your trip to Pavilion breaks down:
You wait in a line outside.
You get your ticket and proceed to your theater.
You realize «oh right, this is the place with the tiny theaters and incredibly sticky floors that no one cleans.»
The movie starts and you realize, «oh and their projectors are low res, dim, and there’s a giant tear down the screen.»
You decide this isn’t worth it and leave the theater.
You tell them you aren’t satisfied with the cinema and want your money back.
Then their staff tells you «NO REFUNDS», even though the movie hasn’t even started yet (Here’s a good clue that it’s a scam because a normal cinema would just refund you).
Then you argue with them for a very long time and if you argue long enough you might get a movie pass so you can once again return to this poor excuse of a cinema.
Just don’t go. It’s a lot more time efficient to just visit one of the many decent theaters in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Your eyes, your ears, and your shoes deserve better.

I’ve lived near this theater for almost three years, and I’ve always enjoyed popping over on a Saturday morning for a second screening of a movie I’ve already seen at a better kept theater in the city. For the first two years we lived in Park Slope, I had quite a few good experiences, and the theater manager was always nice to talk to (white guy, goatee, I don’t know his name) and even gave me a poster or two when I’d ask. All that said, something has changed about this theater over the past couple of months, and though I’ve defended it to no end to naysayers who make things up about the theater (sorry, but the theater is NOT infested with bed bugs — I live next door and would know about it if it was), I’m done defending it.
The past three times we’ve been here have been a terrible experience.
First: I saw a second screening of Star Wars: Episode VII, and when I complained to the manager on duty about some teenagers recording the movie with their phones right in front of me, they just walked in, talked to him, and walked away, when what they should have done is kicked him out.
Second: we saw Sisters AND Joy the week after Christmas; Sisters was terrible but I lived, Joy was good but the entire film was CROOKED and cut off (Jennifer Lawrence’s head was frequently bleeding over onto the walls) because they didn’t have their projector lined up properly and they didn’t have a projectionist on hand to fix it.
Third: we tried to see The Revenant tonight, and the entire film was too dark; we could barely see anyone’s faces, let alone figure out what was even going on because things like wounds, etc., were shrouded in darkness («wait, is that guy dying? When did he get shot/​bit/​etc.?») Several people complained to the manager on duty almost immediately after the film started, and yet a half hour later, we still couldn’t see what was going on, despite his promise that «a technician was looking into it.»
We left, got our money back, and as much as it pains me to say it, I don’t think I’ll be going back to this theater, ever again.

The outside of this theater is really beautiful, classic, but then you go inside and it’s awful. This theater desperately needs a renovation, or at least extensive cleaning, and I’m not at ALL a neatnik. Anyone who knows me would die laughing at the idea of me complaining about a place being filthy, because typically I don’t even notice. In this theater, you can’t help but notice. First of all, the rugs are matted, dirty and falling apart. The theater we were in, #1, had a rotten, musty smell, and usually I don’t even notice bad smells. The seat beside me was covered with embedded crumbs, and my armrest had some sort of sticky blob on it. The photos people have posted here demonstrate the state of this theater. It could be such a beautiful place, and I understand that movie theaters are struggling for attendance, but nowadays, when it’s so easy to watch movies at home, theaters really need to keep themselves in reasonably nice condition to have a chance. If only a rich benefactor would throw some money at this theater so that it could be fixed up.
I know that one of the theaters got new reclining leather seats, so maybe that one is nice.

This place is gross. Popcorn was stale, when we asked for new popcorn they said it was fresh, when we asked for a refund they said they couldn’t cause we to touched it. The bathrooms are disgusting. 4 stalls but only one worked. Looks like it hasn’t been cleaned in months. I suggested you stay far away this place.

These people are a bunch of incompetent crooks.
I went there to watch Star Wars and despite it being absolutely filthy, they sold us online tickets at the wrong time. We bought tickets for 12pm on Christmas Day, and when we got there, the movie didn’t start. After 30 mins of waiting, I went down to ask the manager what is happening and she was extremely rude and unhelpful. Apparently the movie was moved to 1:45pm and they notified no one! After haggling with them for a while I finally got my refund.
I eventually just gave up on this place and went to UA in sheepshead because at least you get proper service there without any danger of catching some venereal disease from the gross seats.
This movie theater is in desperate need of tearing down and complete rebuilding with a more competent staff.

Never again. I came here last night to see the new Star Wars movie because I wanted to avoid the craze of Manhattan theaters and because I enjoy supporting local businesses. However, I will never go back to this theatre again. Besides the guy taking our tickets, every employee was miserable. The girl who sold us the tickets didn’t even speak the entire time we picked up the ones we had purchased online. After standing outside in the cold for 30 minutes in line (something I haven’t done in years), everyone was ready to go in.
The only good things about this theatre was the sound and the picture quality were nice in the theatre we were at. Everything else was disgusting. The seats were covered in popcorn and other junk. The décor was gross and the carpet hasn’t looked like it’s been touched by a vacuum in years.
My worst shock was when I went into the ladies room. I opened the first door as it didn’t have an out of order sign like the handicap stall did and nearly threw up. The toilet was incrusted in something and had flies covering it. I couldn’t believe how disgusting it was. I took a photo to show someone downstairs it thinking they would put an out of order sign on it during the 2 ½ hours the movie was but as I came down after the movie, there was still nothing there.
I wish they would maintain this theatre as the bones of it are beautiful but never again!

Who are these serial complainers taking on their friendly neighborhood theater? It was a fine time. Maybe a bit hot, but then again so is your mother and a don’t cause a ruckus about that, do we?
Came here for a showing of Magic Mike XL. The folks at the ticket window were friendly. The snack bar was a bit sparse and maybe not the most appetizing, but that’s why you bring snacks in with you.
The theater was small, but I liked the intimate setting, over the Donald Trump YUGE setting of the bigger theaters like Cobble Hill.
Folks like to say nasty things about this place. As if they know where their bed bugs originated, or whatever complaint they lodge without proof, but I encourage them to go elsewhere. If the rumors are true and they turn this place into condos, it’ll be missed.

There is certainly no shortage of criticism but this place is SOOOO BAD I just have to put my two cents in.
Filthy theaters: I went in after another movie ended and no one came to clean up! Popcorn and other filth was everywhere.
Terrible sound: It was very quiet and hard to hear dialogue. Manager said he turned it up but nothing changed. Also, they kept the door open so we heard people and other movies over our own film!
Horrible picture quality: It looked like the top portion of the screen was on fire because it had a wavy quality to it. Also, you could see the pixels of the image in numerous occasions. Most people could get a better picture in their living room!
Abysmal customer service: The manager refused to provide a refund. He may have been following policy but he obviously didn’t care too much for his job. I don’t think anyone but the security guard had any pride in their work.
I’ve been to this theater twice now and I can guarantee you there will not be a third time. I do have two comp tickets but I’m considering putting them in an envelop labeled «take at your own risk» and leaving it in the lobby of my apartment building.
I implore you you to stay away from this dump. Don’t be lazy and give it a shot because it’s convenient or you like to be open minded. You will probably never find another theater this bad in your lifetime.

What happened to the pavilion it used to be clean and beautiful during the early 00s and now I come back after a few years and it has gone to the dumps. Did the original owners sell it to someone who just doesn’t care anymore? There’s no close theater in park slope really other than going into cobble hill or the city. Unfortunate that the pavilion has become like this, it’s in a dire need of a renovation.

I wish it were better, I really do…
I went with a buddy to go watch Spectre during Veteran’s Day. I had purchased my tickets online, thinking that I could avoid any long lines/​potential sellouts since I assume most New Yorkers go to the movies on holidays (wait, we don’t?). Once I arrive at the theater, I could not figure out where to check in with my online ticket, save for the line going down the block with families and their children. Nothing against children, but there were so many. And I didn’t want to stand behind them all.
So my buddy and I walk into the entrance to find an employee… but no one was taking tickets. I had a brief moral dilemma around whether just walking to my specific theater was appropriate or not, since I had already paid for a ticket but hadn’t given them a ticket but was it movie hopping but maybe I could get caught but I had the ticket in my inbox so ultimately we went inside.
Oh wait, it’s IMPOSSIBLE to find the theater your movie is in. I’m assuming it would have been printed on the actual ticket, but even then it was really hard to navigate. After some laps, we finally found our theater. Small screen, seats were not the most comfortable, and the lights stayed on for the first 20 minutes. It felt like I was in my buddy’s living room watching on a really large TV versus an actual movie-​going experience.
I really hope they renovate/​update the space, because I love local neighborhood theaters. Wishing them all the best (and hope they upgrade. Like soon.)

In the words of Ronald Regan (sorry for the comparison) in front of the Berlin Wall …
«Mr. De Blasio, tear this. .. down!» Enough said!

According to newspaper reports, this theater is closing and taking it’s spot will be luxury condos. Now typically this would be met with anger, but this theater is garbage… Good riddance.
I’ve gone here a few times over the years and, to me, this place has always been synonymous with rats (they’ve been known to run across your feet during movies), bedbugs and garbage (everywhere). It’s a total shame because it wasn’t always like this and Park Slope seems like the perfect place for a nice, high-​end theater, but instead it seemed like the owners didn’t care. In fact, it was so bad you might think they destroyed the place on purpose. Maybe their end-​game was always to turn the building into luxury condos.
Goodbye, Pavilion Cinema. You will not be missed. Park Slope does need a good movie theater, though.