Sony Has Acquired Alamo Drafthouse Cinema – IGN

Sony’s purchase comes on the heels of a 2020 court ruling that repealed the Paramount Consent Decrees, allowing movie studios to own movie theater chains for the first time since 1948. While the original decision was intended to stop anticonsumer practices that resulted from massive entities owning both the means of producing films as well as distributing them, a federal judge ruled that the laws were out of touch with the current state of the film industry and studio systems. Though the decrees didn’t impact every studio equally (for instance Columbia Pictures, now a part of SPE, was still able to make such purchases) Sony is the first company to purchase a chain such as Alamo Drafthouse in the wake of the ruling.

Alamo Drafthouse was founded in 1997 and currently spans 35 theaters across 25 cities in North America. It rose to prominence due to its pioneering offering of seat-side food and drink service, including alcoholic beverages, and touting stringent theater etiquette policies.

However, just last week, six Alamo Drafthouse locations in Texas closed their doors as their franchisee declared bankruptcy. It’s unclear what this acquisition will mean for those locations.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

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This story was amended after publication to clarify the Paramount Consent Decrees’ impact.