Alamo Drafthouse

The Alamo Drafthouse chain of movie theaters is known for having a high quality filmgoing experience by cinema-philes. The rapidly growing chain innovated early on with their eat- and drink-in movie-watching experience and always outfits their auditoriums with the latest 4K technology, along with one or two traditional 35 MM projectors for their signature revival screenings of cult movies.

Alamo Drafthouse is also known to have a zero tolerance policy for talking, texting or otherwise disrupting a screening, as well as having an 18 and over policy for most locations. According to their website, they also hate it when other movie theaters make you watch advertisements after you’ve already paid to see the movie and in turn never letting ads hit their screens. They’ve even turned down PSAs for great causes because we don’t want ANYTHING to disrupt a movie fan’s experience of watching a movie.

Instead of ads, theater staff create custom preshows with content themed to most of the features they program.

Cold beer, hot movies, and delicious snacks and meals, The Alamo Drafthouse is dinner, drinks, movies and events, all under one roof. The chain’s attention to detail in film presentation and programming has earned accolades from the likes of Entertainment Weekly (#1 theater in America), Wired.com (Coolest Movie Theater in the World) and Fandango.com (One of the Best Theaters in the Country).

The Alamo Drafthouse was founded in Austin, Texas in 1997 by Tim and Karrie League, who were driven by a simple passion for watching movies and enjoying food and beer. The first theater was a fairly simple one screen operation that initially featured second run titles at discount rates, but the Leagues’ passion for programming quickly soared past the standard repertory theater midnight fare and it wasn’t long before Austin’s cinematic luminaries like Richard Linklater (Slacker, Dazed and Confused) and Harry Knowles (Ain’t It Cool News.com) took notice.

Soon what was once a non-descript parking garage that the Leagues transformed into a theater with their own two hands became the hub for every true cinephile in central Texas. Within its first year the venue was playing host to film premieres, visiting filmmakers, and even caught the eye of Quentin Tarantino, who began hosting legendary 5 day marathon screenings of classic exploitation titles from his personal collection.

Over the years, the original Colorado Street location became a laboratory for more innovative programming and events, and the Leagues began opening more theaters throughout Austin, this time as small multiplexes that would play a mix of top Hollywood product and indie fare.

Today the Alamo is expanding and opening both company-owned and franchised locations across the U.S. Currently there are theaters throughout Texas in Austin, Houston, San Antonio, New Braunfels, Dallas, Lubbock and El Paso. Theaters across the country include Winchester, VA, Yonkers, NY, Kansas City, MO, Denver, CO, and Ashburn, VA. Plans are underway to open in several additional markets in the coming years.