Sony Pictures Acquires Alamo Drafthouse In Hail Mary Attempt To Save Struggling Theater Chain

After a tense few years of barely scraping by, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has been acquired by Sony Pictures Entertainment.

The embattled company is one of the first cinema chains to be scooped up by a major Hollywood studio since a 2020 decision by the Justice Department to rescind the Paramount Decree, The New York Times reported.

The antitrust standard, which prevented production studios from owning theaters, dated back to 1949 and was meant to prevent monopolization of the film business.

Austin-based Alamo Drafthouse has been fighting for its survival since the pandemic ravaged the moviegoing industry, having suffered through plummeting ticket sales and the rise of streaming services. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2021 but was reportedly back in growth mode last year.

Rumors about the company pitching itself for sale to major Hollywood executives began to swirl this spring. At the time, the movie theater business was once again on thin ice after the writers and actors strikes of 2023 led to a thinner slate of releases. Major companies like AMC and Cinemark reported first-quarter losses.

Then, last week, five Alamo Drafthouse locations in the Dallas area and another in Minnesota abruptly closed after the franchisee company filed for bankruptcy.

Alamo Drafthouse has 35 locations across 25 U.S. metros and is the seventh-largest theater chain in North America, the NYT reported.

The theaters will continue to operate under their namesake brand but will be managed by a newly formed group at Sony led by Michael Kustermann, Alamo’s CEO. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.