Sony buys quirky cinema chain Alamo, ushering in an era of studio-theater mash-ups

Truffle popcorn and an IPA… and throwing confetti at the screen during “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Sony Pictures scooped up Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, known for its upscale menus, quirky screenings, and super-strict no-texting policy. Alamo is North America’s seventh-largest movie chain with 35 theaters in 14 states, showing flicks to 10M guests annually, including 4M loyalty members. It could probably use Sony’s fund infusion after filing for bankruptcy mid-pandemic.

• Not just a summer slump: With few blockbusters on-screen, the box office is struggling. Analysts expect global full-year revenues to come in nearly 20% below the prepandemic average gross.

• Unique sell: Alamo’s recovering faster than many of its theater peers. Its ticket sales jumped 30% last year, outperforming the industry.

Plot twist… Sony’s the first big studio to buy a theater chain since the 1940s. A 1948 antitrust ruling barred major studios from merging with theaters, but that ban expired in 2020. Still, in the ’80s, studios like Sony and Universal were able to buy stakes in some chains, and Disney snapped up LA’s historic El Capitan theater. Since 2020, the only major studios to buy theaters have been streamers: Netflix and Amazon purchased individual locations like The Egyptian Theater for screenings that made their films eligible for Oscar noms.