All five Alamo Drafthouse theaters in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have closed, their owners said Thursday.
The theaters, which are located in Richardson, Las Colinas, Lake Highlands, Dallas and Denton, have all filed for bankruptcy.
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In a news release Thursday, the franchise group that runs the local theaters cited poor “industry-wide economic performance” in its decision to seek bankruptcy protection. The group also said theatergoing numbers across the industry have not rebounded to their pre-pandemic levels. Contractual obligations required the group to keep open “even the most unprofitable locations,” it said.
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An Alamo Drafthouse in Minnesota was also closed. More than 600 employees will be impacted by the closures, the release said.
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In a message sent to employees Thursday morning, franchise group leader Bill DiGaetano wrote, “It breaks my heart that after 10 years this is where we are left, but the huge number of losses to the business sustained were simply too big for us to continue operations.”
The franchise group opened its first Alamo Drafthouse in North Texas in 2013 in Richardson. It grew to include six area locations by 2020, all of which were closed that year because of the pandemic. A location in North Richland Hills never reopened and closed permanently in 2022, when the locations in Richardson and Lake Highlands filed for bankruptcy.
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In a statement Thursday, a spokesperson for the Austin-based Alamo chain said it is “working as quickly as possible to get Alamo Drafthouse Cinema back up and running in these cities. All other Alamo Drafthouse locations are operating as normal, with continued expansion plans across the country.”
Carlos Rodriguez, 35, had worked as a bartender at the Lake Highlands location for the past nine months. He received his weekly schedule on Wednesday as usual, he said, which made the announcement of the closures Thursday morning “shocking.”
His job at the Alamo accounted for roughly a third of his income, he said, noting he’s the sole caretaker of his retired grandmother.
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Holding down two jobs is a must, he said. “Bills don’t care about franchises closing down.”
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Alamo Drafthouse has attracted a following nationwide with its in-theater dining and cinematic offerings that go beyond traditional releases to include anniversary screenings, indie films and Q&A sessions with actors and directors. In another blow to the local film scene, the Angelika theater in Plano closed this week.
“I’m a big fan of the blockbuster too, but people like more than just the blockbuster,” said James Faust, artistic director of the Dallas International Film Festival.
On any given week at an Alamo Drafthouse, he said, movie lovers could watch a French film from the ‘60s and then attend a Prince-themed karaoke night.
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The Dallas International Film Festival does not own a theater, so it partners with local cinemas, including Alamo Drafthouse, Faust said.
“There’s a cachet of being at the Alamo,” he said. “It’s a national brand that people know about.”
Local patrons of Alamo Drafthouse reflected on why it was their go-to theater.
Lewisville’s Ana Olivares, 43, often hears stories of poor theater etiquette — people on their phones during a movie or even answering calls, she said.
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But at the Alamo Drafthouse locations in Richardson and Denton, she never experienced such disturbances. “I was smugly superior because I [had] an Alamo Drafthouse to go to,” she said. “I [didn’t] have to put up with that.”
Olivares saw Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga at the Denton Alamo earlier this week, she said. “If they said, ‘Oh we’re closing all of our locations as of the end of June,’ then I would [have] made it a priority to go see what I could before they close.”
Michelle High, a 34-year-old resident of East Dallas who owned a season pass to Alamo Drafthouse, called the theater’s Lake Highlands location a “second home” for her and her husband.
The couple met for their first date in 2017 at the Alamo in the Cedars, where they watched the dark comedy I, Tonya.
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“That’s where our relationship began,” High said. “This one really hurts. I hope it comes back.”
Some people are encouraged by the Alamo chain’s statement indicating that the theaters may return.
“I have a lot of faith that this will be back,” Faust said. “I just hope it’s back in time for Deadpool [&] Wolverine.”
Rodriguez is also holding out hope. But in the meantime, he said, “D-FW, remember the Alamo.”
