Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas coming to OKC, Norman, Tulsa
A new theater chain is about to enter the OKC market, along with other surrounding markets. In one way I think this is great, as it will introduce a new theater concept to the market. But, in another ay, I tend to question whether another theater chain can survive. Even before the Bricktown Cinema opens, all market studies show that the theater market in the Oklahoma City metro area is overbuilt. The opening of the new Bricktown Theater is opening against all odds, with all market studies showing that it can't be supported.
I think it's great that we're getting more theaters in town, but at the same time, I don't want the market to be so saturated that we're left with several empty theaters in a few years.
I tend ot wonder where these theater will be built. I can only think of a few areas that could use a decent theater.......Midwest City/Del City area, Bethany area, Moore area, etc. Bethany already supports the Windsor Hills cinema though, and Moore supports Regal 16. I suppose the far SW part of OKC could use another theater....maybe around the 119 and May area.
I just hope that this new cinema uses common sense and doesn't oversaturate the market. The market probably can't support anymore 20+ screen theaters, but it might be able to support a couple more regional 14-16 screen theaters.
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"Expanding theater chain targets metro
by Heidi R. Centrella
The Journal Record
8/17/2004
Dinner, drinks and a movie - sans "screaming babies" - soon will be an option for fresh entertainment seekers in Oklahoma City, Norman and Tulsa.
The Austin-based Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas plans to cross the Red River after expanding to San Antonio in coming weeks, said President John Martin. The company has three locations in Austin and one in Houston with plans to move into four other Texas cities. The company also is working on deals in Colorado and Florida.
While company officials said they already have chosen locations for the theaters, they are unable to disclose the sites at this time. However, an announcement will be made within the next 30 days.
The small chain was founded in 1996 with one screen that showed second-run films. Today, that's all changed. The theater now operates a full restaurant with an extensive wine and beer list, shows first-run movies, and offers special programs such as Mr. Sinus. That's a Mystery Science Theater 3000-esque stand-up routine featuring three comics on the front row with microphones-in-hand critiquing some of history's worst movies, such as Dirty Dancing, Xanadu and Lost Boys.
Other eclectic or specialty programming includes Movie-oke - similar to karaoke, but different in every aspect - dollar night, midnight movies, Hong Kong cinema and cuisine and the ever-popular celebrity appearances. Director Quentin Tarantino, for example, has hosted film festivals at the downtown Austin location and appeared when the theater showed a premiere of Kill Bill Vol. 1. Mel Gibson attended a screening of an unedited cut of The Passion of the Christ that host Harry Knowles included in his "Butt-Numb-A-Thon" film festival. Other appearances included Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, Lou Ferrigno in conjunction with the Hulk and, on a more quirky note, Antonio Fargas, the original Huggy Bear of Starsky & Hutch.
"We'll now be stronger in the celebrity appearances because the more locations we have, the more the economy scales lend to us having bigger and better celebrities - we can do small mini-tours that will start on one end of our empire and end on the other," said Terrell Braly, CEO.
Original Alamo owners, Tim and Karrie League, sold the name, rights and franchise operations in July to the two Austin businessmen behind the expansions.
"We took it from the small operation that it was into what it is today," Braly said.
And as for the company's revenues, combined with its fast and successful growth, Braly said "We don't know what failure is."
"We've walked into other people's failures, where large corporations have had theaters in Austin, Houston, San Antonio, and we go in either six months down the road or two years later, reopen them as Alamos, and I don't think that they've seen any success like it," said Martin. "We're looking at any locations in the U.S. where the community watches movies and eats dinner, which is pretty much everywhere."
"And who doesn't want screaming babies to interrupt the movie," Braly added, noting that theaters are designed for the 18-and-older crowds, unless a child - absolutely no younger than 6 - is with a "true parent or guardian."
With the company's revenue stream and growth strategy, moving into Oklahoma seemed a natural transition, Martin said.
Revenues "are well above industry standards," said Braly. "Most of the articles about us … indicate that we are pretty much at twice-per-normal theater revenues. That's with half the seats.
"We actually had a semi-joke that if we could just get Regal's close-down program, we would follow in their wake because our success is based upon their failures."
Franchises will be based on a prototype of the original Alamo Drafthouse in downtown Austin, showing new releases - some with a twist - as well as off-beat viewings. For example, this summer when Garfield was shown, viewers were served lasagna, the cat's favorite food, as a giant scratching post was set up in the lobby for the theater's fat cat contest.
"We're not procrastinators, and … we're definitely trying to be first to market," Braly said. "We will be the first to market. And we are in a rapid expansion mode, so we're not talking a five-year plan here."
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