What will sale of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema to Sony mean for the shuttered DFW theaters?

Austin-based theater chain Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has been acquired by Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Alamo will continue to operate all 35 of the chain’s theaters across the country, Sony announced Wednesday. Alamo CEO Michael Kustermann will remain with the company and will also head the newly created division, Sony Pictures Experiences.

Sony’s acquisition of Alamo comes nearly a week after the closure of the company’s five Dallas-Fort Worth area theaters.

The theater shutdowns stem from Two is One, One is None, LLC filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The company was a franchisee with Alamo, who operated the five Dallas-Fort Worth area locations and one in Woodbury, Minnesota, which also closed.

In the wake of the acquisition, Sony is working to get the Dallas-Fort Worth area Alamo theaters back up and running, a company insider told the Star-Telegram. Meanwhile, the North Texas closures do not impact existing operations and Sony’s plans for growth remain unchanged.

Alamo is headquartered in Austin and will remain in the city, according to Sony.

The Austin-based and Alamo-owned genre film festival, Fantastic Fest, is also part of the Sony acquisition.

“We are beyond thrilled to join forces with Sony Pictures Entertainment to expand our company vision to be the best damn cinema that has ever, or will ever, exist now in ways we could only ever dream of,” Alamo founder Tim League said in a press release. “They have a deep respect and understanding of cinema’s ability to both drive growth and create lasting cultural impact which aligns perfectly with everything Alamo Drafthouse stands for.

Alamo Drafthouse opened its first theater in Austin in 1997, expanding into over a dozen states since.

Despite the Dallas-Fort Worth closures, Alamo still has a large presence in the Lone Star State with locations in Austin, Corpus Christi, El Paso, Houston, Laredo, Lubbock and San Antonio.

Brayden Garcia

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Brayden Garcia is the entertainment reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where he mainly writes about how the film and TV industry impacts North Texas, from Taylor Sheridan shows to the Fort Worth Film Commission and everything in between.