ArcLight Cinemas to open a theater in Santa Monica

ArcLight Cinemas is broadening its footprint in Los Angeles County.

The L.A.-based luxury cinema chain will open a new theater in Santa Monica in spring 2015, company executives said.

The 14-screen theater will occupy the third floor of Santa Monica Place, just above Bloomingdale’s. The multiplex would be ArcLight’s sixth location in Southern California.

ArcLight recently signed a leasing agreement with Macerich Shopping Centers for the new venue, which would include a cafe and lounge where patrons 21 years and older can order wine, beer and cocktails during select screenings.

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ArcLight already has theaters El Segundo, Hollywood, Pasadena and Sherman Oaks, and in late 2012 opened a facility in San Diego’s La Jolla neighborhood. ArcLight also is building theaters on the East Coast and in the Midwest.

The Santa Monica theater will be situated in a popular shopping and dining destination at the end of the Third Street Promenade. The city has an avid base of moviegoers, an ArcLight executive said, making it an ideal location for a new theater complex.

“Santa Monica is such a great moviegoing location,” said Gretchen McCourt, executive vice president for ArcLight Cinemas. “There’s such a nice history there, not only of filmmakers living in the area, but also avid filmmakers. We feel the audience will really love the ArcLight experience.”

Founded more than a decade ago by Pacific Theatres, which operates the movie theater in the Grove shopping center, ArcLight Cinemas has helped redefine the cinema-going experience in Los Angeles.

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It serves a mix of programming that includes Hollywood blockbusters, art house fare and cult classics, in a luxury environment. Its signature amenities, such as reserved seating, commercial-free movies and gourmet food, have been embraced by consumers and copied by other theater companies.

ArcLight Hollywood consistently ranks among the highest-grossing theaters in the country. Its success has fueled a steady expansion of the circuit in Southern California and beyond.

This fall, the company will open a theater in Bethesda, Md. A Chicago ArcLight is set to debut in 2015. Additional cities could be coming.

“We’re looking for key demographics in great moviegoing cities where there is an opportunity,” McCourt said, “whether they are in Los Angeles or other key cities across the country.”

richard.verrier@latimes.com