The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is an American cinema chain founded in 1997 in
Austin, Texas, which is famous for serving dinner and drinks during the movie, as well as its strict policy of requiring its audiences to maintain proper cinema-going
etiquette.
The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema was founded by
Rice University alums
Tim and Karrie League at 409 Colorado St, in an Austin, Texas
warehouse district building on Colorado St. (between 4th and 5th) that was being used as a
parking garage.[10]
The company began as a
second-run movie theater. It distinguished itself by the food and drink service offered inside the theater, including cold beers, which continues to set Alamo Drafthouse apart from many other cinemas.[citation needed] The seating is arranged with rows of cabaret-style tables in front of each row of seats, with an aisle between each row to accommodate waitstaff service. Customers write their orders on slips of paper, which black-clad servers pick up.
Soon after opening, the original downtown theater began offering occasional unique programming such as silent movies scored by local bands playing live accompaniment, food-themed films such as Like Water for Chocolate served with a dinner matching the meals shown on screen, and retrospectives of various directors and stars.[citation needed] This includes location-based food options depending on the film setting.
In 2001, the Leagues renovated a four-screen art-house theater at 2700 Anderson Lane in North Austin called Village Cinema, which had recently closed, and opened it as an Alamo Drafthouse which specialized in
first-run movies. With this new Alamo Drafthouse Village, the downtown location ceased showing second-run movies and began to concentrate almost exclusively on unusual programming, including classics, cult classics, independents, documentaries, special guest appearances, and audience participation shows.[citation needed]
In 2003, the Alamo Drafthouse, under the direction of CEO Terrell Braly, opened on 13729 Research Boulevard in northwest Austin. The Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek had seven screens, all dedicated to new movies. Almost simultaneously, the Alamo granted their first franchise, which opened in the
West Oaks Mall in
Houston, Texas.
In May 2003, Travis Doss opened the first Alamo franchise location (
West Oaks Mall) in
Houston, Texas with six screens.
In July 2004, Tim and Karrie League sold the brand, including the brand name, intellectual property, and rights to all future Alamo Drafthouse expansion to the Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas CEO Terrell Braly, John Martin, and David Kennedy, but retained an irrevocable license for the Austin locations (Village, Lamar, Downtown), which includes their Rolling Roadshow.[11]
In August 2004, the second largest Alamo (Westlakes) opened in
San Antonio,
Texas, with eight screens.
In August 2005, Entertainment Weekly named the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema "The #1 movie theater in the country doing it right".[12]
Since February 2005, the new company has purchased the original franchise unit from Doss, opened a theater in the
Katy Area and in
Spring, Texas, and built a new-build multi-screen theater in the
Rio Grande Valley; though it was announced in 2006 to open, the building has remained unfinished since the original owner was foreclosed upon.[13]
In 2006, due to rising rent in downtown Austin, theater owners took steps to hand the theater over to a non-profit group called the "Heroes of the Alamo" foundation, operating the theater as a cultural arts center. However, with the historic
Ritz Theater on
6th Street offered as an alternative location, the original Alamo was closed. The final event at the original site consisted of a special triple-feature event on the evening of June 27, 2007. The final movie shown was
Night Warning, with star
Susan Tyrrell attending. After the movie, audience members were allowed to disassemble their seats and take them home as souvenirs of the theater.
In 2009, the first outside of Texas was opened in Winchester, Virginia.[14]
A second San Antonio theater opened in 2009 (Park North), with six screens.[15]
In June 2010, founder Tim League was brought back as CEO of the franchise operations.[16]
A third San Antonio location (Stone Oak) opened on November 5, 2010, with six screens.
In 2013, the Lake Creek location was closed upon the opening of the brand new, larger Lakeline location.[citation needed]
In June 2017, the current largest Alamo opened in
Springfield, Missouri with 14 screens seating 1,050 people.
In late 2017, Alamo purchased the historic
Baker Center from
Austin ISD. They had promised to convert the building into public housing for teachers, but have yet to do so. The Baker Center is now Alamo Drafthouse’s corporate headquarters and was added to the
NRHP in 2023.[17][18]
In March 2019, Business Insider reported that Alamo Drafthouse's movie-ticket subscription service, Alamo Season Pass, will launch nationwide at all Drafthouse theaters by the end of the year with the unlimited plan costing $20 a month in most regions of the country.[19]
In March 2020, Alamo Drafthouse announced that all locations were closed temporarily due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.[20]
In May 2020, Alamo announced that former Starbucks Exec
Shelli Taylor would become the new CEO of Alamo Drafthouse and that founder Tim League would transfer from his current role as CEO to become the chairman of the board of directors.[21]
The company announced the launch of the "Alamo on Demand" video streaming service on May 7, 2020. With a video-on-demand platform provided by
Shift72, the streaming service will have films from Drafthouse Films, its film distribution arm, as well as partner with name-brand studios like
Sony Pictures Classics and
Lionsgate.[22][23][24]
On March 3, 2021, Alamo Drafthouse filed
Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Among closing cinemas across the southern U.S., plans to open an Orlando, Florida location were canceled.[25][26] The debtors were represented by
Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor as counsel and
Houlihan Lokey as investment banker. With $100 million to $500 million in both assets and liabilities, Alamo entered into a restructuring support agreement to help guide them through their bankruptcy.[27] In June 2021, the company announced that they had emerged from bankruptcy.[28]
Locations
Italics indicate location has not officially opened yet.
Alamo Drafthouse
Staten Island (9 screens, opened July 22, 2022) [44]
Other New York cities
Alamo Drafthouse
Yonkers (6 screens; opened August 5, 2013 includes Video Vortex video store) [45]
North Carolina
Alamo Drafthouse
Raleigh (11 screens, opened early 2018, includes Video Vortex video rental store) [3]
Texas
Austin
Alamo Drafthouse Village (4 screens; opened July 2001)
Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar (6 screens; opened March 7, 2005, closed January 3, 2013, as the 1950s Lamar Plaza shopping center is demolished and rebuilt. Reopened in the third quarter of 2014 in a new building with nine screens on the same site.)[46]
Alamo Drafthouse Slaughter Lane (8 screens; opened on March 8, 2012)
Alamo Drafthouse Lakeline (10 screens; opened July 2013)
Alamo Drafthouse at Mueller (6 screens; opened March 2017)
Alamo Drafthouse Cedar Park (10 screens; opening TBA)[47]
Houston
Alamo Drafthouse LaCenterra-
Katy (8 screens, replacing previous Mason Park location, July 2018)[48]
Alamo Drafthouse Rolling Roadshow – Mobile unit operates worldwide
Former locations
Arizona
As of September 2021, all three locations were rebranded as Majestic Theaters.[55]
Alamo Drafthouse Phoenix –
Chandler (Planned eight-screen location in downtown Chandler, AZ, abandoned due to construction issues, development taken over by
Harkins Theatres. Alamo Holdings LLC later inked a $14.6 million lease on a location in south Chandler which opened on December 2, 2016)[56]
Alamo Drafthouse
Gilbert (8 screens, opened November 2019)[57]
Missouri
Alamo Drafthouse Mainstreet –
Kansas City (6 screens; took over operations from AMC Theatres June 21, 2012; closure announced as part of bankruptcy restructuring in March 2021)
Alamo Drafthouse Midtown –
Omaha (5 screens; opened Winter 2018; closed October 2022[60])
Texas
Alamo Drafthouse Downtown – Austin (single screen; opened 1997, closed 2007 to move to Ritz location)
Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek – Austin (7 screens; opened May 2003; closed July 2013)
Alamo Drafthouse
West Oaks Mall – Houston (6 screens; opened May 2003 as first Houston area location, closed June 25, 2012)
Alamo Drafthouse Vintage Park –
Spring (7 screens; opened February 2013; sold December 6, 2016)
Alamo Drafthouse Mason Park –
Katy Area (7 screens; opened February 2006, closed June 2018, replaced by LaCenterra location)
Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz – Austin (2 screens; opened November 2007; closure announced as part of bankruptcy restructuring in March 2021)
Alamo Drafthouse Marketplace –
New Braunfels (11 screens; opened December 20, 2013; closure announced as part of bankruptcy restructuring in March 2021)
Alamo Drafthouse Westlakes –
San Antonio (9 screens; opened August 2004 as first San Antonio area location; closed mid 2021)
Alamo Drafthouse is famous for enforcing a strict policy on behavior while in the theater. Children under the age of two are not allowed, except for showings on specific days designated "Alamo For All", where parents are encouraged to bring young children, and rules around talking are relaxed.[66] Unaccompanied minors are not allowed in showings, except for members of the Alamo Drafthouse's Victory Vanguard rewards program, which allows 15–17 year-olds to attend showings unattended after their application to the rewards program has been submitted and reviewed. The application involves demonstrating an understanding of the theater's policies around talking, texting, arriving late, and basic tipping etiquette.[67]
The cinema also prohibits talking and texting during the film. Anyone who violates this policy is subject to warning and potential removal from the premises.[68] Alamo made national headlines in 2011 when the rantings of one angry customer who was ejected for texting were included in its "Don't Talk or Text" PSA shown before films. "When we adopted our strict no-talking policy back in 1997, we knew we were going to alienate some of our patrons," Tim League posted on the cinema's website. "That was the plan. If you can't change your behavior and be quiet (or unilluminated) during a movie, then we don't want you at our venue."[69]
In 2010, after the return of former co-founder Tim League as CEO, the company launched
Drafthouse Films, a
film distribution company named after, and inspired by, the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema chain.
In 2017, then CEO Tim League founded another film distribution company with Tom Quinn in New York City called
Neon, which has earned a total of 12
Academy Award nominations. As of 2019, Tim League was reportedly not involved in the daily operations of Neon.[70]
Birth.Movies.Death.
Birth.Movies.Death. is a magazine and website formerly published by Alamo Drafthouse.[71] The magazine and website provide news and commentary about films and the entertainment industry.
The sale of Birth.Movies.Death to
Dallas Sonnier's
Cinestate film studio was announced in May 2020 concurrently with the stepping down of founder Tim League as CEO of Alamo Drafthouse.[72]
Hostile workplace allegations
In October 2016, Devin Faraci resigned from Birth.Movies.Death. after allegations of sexual assault surfaced.[73] Less than a year later, Tim League re-hired Faraci to write film blurbs for the 2017 Fantastic Fest.[74] Upon discovery of Faraci's re-hiring, Todd Brown resigned as Fantastic Fest's director of international programming in early September 2017.[75] Faraci resigned from writing for Fantastic Fest, and League made several public apologies regarding the matter.[76]
Later in September 2017, several women accused Harry Knowles of sexual harassment and sexual assault at events sponsored by Alamo Drafthouse or in professional workplace settings.[77][78] Subsequent to these revelations, Alamo Drafthouse and Fantastic Fest severed business ties with Knowles. League did not attend Fantastic Fest, opting instead to visit Alamo Drafthouse locations around the country to discuss workplace environment issues with employees.[79] Despite these events, Alamo Drafthouse proceeded with plans to show a previously unreleased pornographic film by
Ed Wood.[80]