As shown in the 2009 Zach Synder film
New Utopia, formerly known as Utopia, is a cinema in New York City which mostly features old movies.
History
On October 19, 1985, Utopia showed This Island Earth.[1] On October 21, the cinema showed Things to Come; that night, a youth (probably Knot Tops) who was on KT-28s was outside shouting about Richard Nixon and bombs and was arrested by the police.[2] On October 27, it showed The Day the Earth Stood Still, a movie about an alien from space who warns humans about an upcoming nuclear war.[3] It was still showing the night of November 2, 1985, when it was destroyed Veidt's "alien" squid monster and all patrons were killed.[4]
Following the massacre in New York City, Utopia was renamed New Utopia. The first movies it showed was Andrei Tarkovsky's The Sacrifice, and Nostalghia.[4]
Trivia
- Utopia appears to curate a lineup of classic science fiction and apocalyptic films whose themes eerily foreshadow the climax of Watchmen and the execution of Adrian Veidt's plan:
- In This Island Earth (1955), extraterrestrials pose as benefactors seeking scientific aid to save their dying world, Metaluna, while secretly orchestrating an invasion of Earth—an unsettling parallel to deception masked as salvation.
- Things to Come (1936) envisions a society in which the looming threat of global war accelerates technological advancement, reflecting the Cold War anxieties that define the world of Watchmen.
- The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) features the alien emissary Klaatu, who arrives to warn humanity about nuclear self-destruction, only to be met with fear and militarized suspicion. Notably, it is the film playing during the 11/2 massacre, underscoring the bitter irony of ignored warnings and misunderstood extraterrestrial intervention.
- Meanwhile, the New Utopia screens works by Soviet expatriate filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky, subtly reflecting the thawing yet fragile relations between the United States and the USSR:
- The Sacrifice (1986) centers on a man’s desperate attempt to prevent an impending nuclear holocaust, thematically echoing Veidt’s willingness to sacrifice the few to save the many.
- Nostalghia (1983), though ostensibly about a contemplative journey through Italy, carries quieter thematic weight—its title resonating with Veidt’s own perfume brand and suggesting undercurrents of memory, longing, and constructed legacy woven into the broader narrative.
- The films playing throughout Watchmen can be interpreted on multiple levels. On one hand, they function symbolically, paralleling the narrative's moral and philosophical tensions. Much like Marooned reflects Adrian Veidt's profound moral isolation, the curated titles collectively amplify the atmosphere of creeping, apocalyptic dread that permeates society. On the other hand, it is possible to read the theater itself—potentially owned by Veidt Enterprises—as complicit in Veidt’s broader scheme. In this interpretation, the selected films subtly prime the public psyche, conditioning audiences to accept the plausibility of extraterrestrial threat. By repeatedly exposing viewers to narratives of danger from space, the cinema becomes a tool of subconscious preparation for Veidt’s fabricated alien catastrophe. The Sacrifice appears particularly resonant in light of Veidt’s utilitarian calculus, echoing his belief that immense loss is justified to secure global peace. Nostalghia, while not directly connected to the central plot (as it concerns a journey to Italy), carries meta-textual significance through its shared name with Veidt’s iconic cosmetic line, suggesting a quieter layer of branding, identity, and legacy woven into the film’s thematic fabric.
- The theater is located on the southwest corner of 40th and 7th, about one block north from Madison Square Garden, across from what used to be the Institute for Extraspatial Studies and the Gunga Diner.