This film is presented by St. Louis’s long-running cult film series Strange Brew and will feature a pre-film intro by Strange Brew programmer Jon Scorfina.

“Times Square (was) like what Riot Grrl was: Girls taking over the punk rock scenes.” – Kathleen Hanna, Bikini Kill, Le Tigre, founder of Riot Grrl

In the first film of director Allan Moyle’s loosely-connected music trilogy (also including Pump Up the Volume & Empire Records), Times Square is the ultimate punk rock fantasy. When a rich teenage girl named Pamela (Trini Alvarado) is institutionalized against her will by her father, she soon meets charismatic street-kid Nicky Marotta (Robin Johnson). The two girls steal an ambulance and break out of the mental institution together. With nowhere to go, the runaways start a life of misadventures on the streets of New York City.

A citywide search for Pamela ensues, that soon get amplified when a hip, underground DJ named Johnny LaGuardia (Tim Curry) starts poetically narrating their story on his late night radio show. The two misfits adopt the persona of the Sleaze Sisters; stealing television sets and dropping them from rough tops becomes their calling card, and they soon become punk rock stars with ambitions to play a concert on Times Square.

The film was largely ignored in its initial release but has gain a cult following, particularly among LGBTQ film festivals. Times Square is also an incredible portrait of New York City in the 80s, painting a dangerous but alluring picture of the gritty city before gentrification made it just another tourist attraction. The accompanying soundtrack captures the most crucial NYC punk & New Wave of the time, including Talking Heads, Patti Smith & Gary Numan. Times Square would also go onto inspire everything from the 90s Riot Grrl movement to Comedy Central’s hit series Broad City.

THEATER POLICIES

All seats are first-come, first-served.

The theater opens 30 minutes prior to showtime, except for “Happy Hour” events and pre-shows when the theater opens at the listed start time.

All ages are welcome at Arkadin except for Drinkolas Cage events, which are restricted to 21+. We follow the MPAA rating guidelines for all other films.

Tickets can be purchased using the BUY TICKETS link above. Upon ordering, you will receive a confirmation email from Square. Tickets may also be purchased on the day of the show at the concession counter.

If you’ve purchased advance tickets, when you arrive, please give your name at the concession counter to check in.

Tickets are returnable by sending a request through the contact form located on our About Us page prior to showtime.

When an event is sold out, we reserve the right to release open seats to customers on the waitlist. If you have a pre-purchased ticket and arrive late and there is no seat for you, your ticket will be refunded.

All screenings are held in our indoor theater unless indicated otherwise in the event description above.

Please respect your fellow movie-goers by remaining quiet and refraining from using your cell phone throughout the screening.