“Didn’t get to watch the last 15 minutes of Superman”: Hundreds forced out of AMC theater due to flooding

A New York City AMC movie theater evacuated 15 minutes before the end of Superman as rising floods infiltrated the building.

AMC Theater’s basement floods

AMC Lincoln Square 13 in New York City closed due to flooding caused by heavy rain on July 14. Videos shared by evacuees on social media showed floodwater gushing from the ceilings of the theater, soaking the concessions area and floors as disappointed moviegoers filed out with 15 minutes left to go in Superman.

According to a message on the theater’s website, local news Pix11 reported, “the location on Broadway and West 68th Street is ‘temporarily closed’ on Tuesday.”

The torrential downpour caused flash flooding in subways that trapped people in train cars and caused the MTA to suspend service. Travel via the city’s roads and airports was severely impacted. 2.07 inches of rain fell in Central Park between 7pm and 8pm on Monday, while AMC Lincoln Square was evacuated.

According to meteorologist Greg Diamond, the heavy rainfall represents New York City’s “second wettest hour” on record, bested only by the 3.47 inches of rain that soaked the city in one single hour during the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in 2021.

New York City democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani connected the storm to climate change and called for urgent infrastructure upgrades. “I’m grateful to the city workers and emergency responders we rely on in these events. But we must upgrade our infrastructure for this new climate reality,” he wrote on X.

“4:30 got to finish the movie at least”

“The movie was about to get good 😭,” wrote @marironcettinyc in the caption for their video of the AMC Theater evacuation.

@yasmineyacut shared a video set to Welcome to New York (Taylor’s version) showing hordes of moviegoers evacuating the theater. She wrote, “AMC Theatre Lincoln Square flooded, whole theatre had to evacuate.” The post has 19 thousand views on TikTok.

@yasmineyacut AMC Theatre Lincoln Square flooded, whole theatre had to evacuate. #nyc #nycflood #nycflooding #superman #davidcorenswet #fyp #foryou #movies ♬ Welcome To New York (Taylor’s Version) – Taylor Swift

@lwt_fitf responded to the post, “I saw the 4:30 and nearly drowned on my way out from the pouring.” @yasmineyacut replied, “Your 4:30 got to finish the movie at least 😂.”

Jet2 Holiday x AMC Lincoln Square

TikToker @thekarlajoan scored their flooded theater documentation with the viral Jet2 TikTok meme. The video has nearly 180 thousand views and shows the concessions area being pummeled by rain pouring from the theater’s ceiling.

@thekarlajoan We come to this place for magic. We come to AMC theaters to laugh, to cry, to care…because we need that #amctheaters ♬ Jet2 Advert – ✈️A7-BBH | MAN 🇬🇧

Superman fans in the comments chimed in.

“NO! I have Tuesday matinee discount tickets for tomorrow,” says one.

“Superman 4D is wild,” adds another.

Social media users commenting on the event echoed Mamdani’s concerns. “The infrastructure in the city needs to be repaired. It’s ridiculous. That rain is literally coming down inside buildings.”