AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin’s home-grown cinema chain has announced a major expansion with seven theaters on the way in cities like Chicago, Birmingham and St. Louis.
Alamo Drafthouse said this comes after a record-breaking 2021, which brought the second-highest domestic opening of all time with “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”
“We’re so thankful for the continued strength and recovery of the theater industry thanks to a packed slate of titles in 2022,” said Alamo Drafthouse CEO Shelli Taylor in a press release. “And we’re very eager to bring the unique Alamo Drafthouse experience to Chicago, St. Louis, Birmingham and beyond.”
Here’s a breakdown of each new theater, many of them franchises, and the features to be included in each.
Staten Island, NY: The company already has a couple of theaters in New York City, but the new theater in Staten Island will be kung-fu themed and have nine screens. It will also include The Flying Guillotine bar, a collaboration with Wu-Tang Clan founder RZA. The bar will celebrate the history of martial arts films. The theater is set to open in Spring 2022.
Chicago, IL: This will be the first theater for Chicago, and it will have six screens. It’ll be located in the historic Wrigleyville neighborhood, directly across from Wrigley Field. The theater is scheduled to open Fall 2022.
Arlington, VA: This nine-screen theater will be in the Crystal City neighborhood of National Landing. It’s expected to open Fall 2022. There are three other Alamo Drafthouse theaters in Virginia, all operated by Cojeaux Cinemas, LLC, which will partner again to run the new location in Arlington.
St. Louis, MO: The new 10-screen theater will be at the City Foundry STL development in midtown. This will be in partnership with St. Louis Alamo Movies, LLC and will open in Fall 2022.
Glendale, CO: The new nine-screen theater will be opening in the Glendale Entertainment District in collaboration with Alamo GlenCo Theater, LLC near the end of 2023. Alamo Drafthouse has three other locations in the Denver area.
Grand Prairie, TX: The new location here will join six other theaters in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. This theater will have 10 screens and will open in early 2024 in partnership with Alamo Grand Prairie Bardin, LLC.
Birmingham, AL: This nine-screen theater already broke ground Thursday at the historic Powell Avenue Steam Plant. This is the first theater being brought to the region, and it’ll be run by franchise partners Birmingham Alamo Movies, LLC. The theater will open Spring 2024.