Dine-in chain Alamo Drafthouse will return to operation by opening select locations on Friday, August 21. The circuit’s first locations to reopen their doors include Winchester, VA; Lubbock, TX; Dallas, TX; Omaha, NE; Denver, CO; Austin, TX (Slaughter Lane location); Springfield, MO; and Charlottesville, VA.
More sites will join the reopening effort the following week, in time for the Friday, August 28 releases of Disney’s The New Mutants and UA Releasing/Orion Pictures’ Bill & Ted Face the Music. Alamo plans to have approximately half of its 41 locations open in the next two weeks.
In July Bill & Ted Face the Music shifted from an exclusively theatrical debut to day-and-date, releasing in theaters and on VOD on September 1. (The date was later changed to August 28.) Alamo will give patrons early access to the film via free screenings on August 26. Said Alamo SVP Steve Bunnell, “Our guests love the guys from Wyld Stallyns, so that’s why we’re stoked to be the first theater company to show Bill & Ted Face the Music—one day early and for free—on Wednesday, August 26th,” says Senior Vice President Steve Bunnell. After early screenings, Bill & Ted will be available to stream on Alamo’s VOD platform, Alamo On Demand.
In addition to new releases—Tenet, along with The New Mutants and Bill & Ted Face the Music—Alamo has announced a pair of themed repertory programs. One, “Making Up for Lost Time,” is a time-themed series inspired by Bill & Ted Face the Music and featuring Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Edge of Tomorrow, Inception, Back to the Future I and II, and Donnie Darko. The second series, “Masked!,” will include Batman, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Set It Off, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Mask of Zorro, and The Silence of the Lambs. Alamo has also made older films available to patrons at select locations through private cinema rentals.
“We are incredibly excited to welcome everyone back to Alamo Drafthouse,” says Alamo Drafthouse CEO Shelli Taylor. “Tenet, The New Mutants, and Bill & Ted Face the Music are made for the big screen experience. We’ve all dearly missed going to the movies, and with our many enhanced safety protocols we feel that we can come together again confidently and securely.” Alamo’s safety protocols, detailed here, include required masks while not eating and drinking; social distancing measures (including at least two “buffer seats” surrounding each party), exiting theaters by row, temperature checks for staff, and enhanced cleaning procedures and schedules.
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