Sony Photos Leisure has acquired the favored movie show chain Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, the 2 corporations introduced on Wednesday.
Sony, which is able to oversee the theaters below a brand new Sony Photos Experiences division, says it “will protect Alamo Drafthouse’s distinctive movie-dining expertise,” in keeping with a press launch. Alamo will proceed to function “all 35 of its cinemas throughout 25 metro areas below the Alamo Drafthouse model,” and present CEO Michael Kustermann will stay in that function. Alamo’s Unbelievable Fest movie competition will nonetheless be operated by the corporate.
Sony is buying Alamo Drafthouse from Altamont Capital Companions, Fortress Funding Group, and Alamo founder Tim League — a gaggle that took possession of Alamo after it filed for Chapter 11 chapter in 2021.
Sony’s acquisition is especially notable on condition that it’s taking place after the 2020 termination of the Paramount Consent Decrees. The decrees, ensuing from a 1948 Supreme Court docket resolution, pressured film corporations to promote the theaters they owned to spur competitors and create client alternative. With so some ways for viewers to see movies these days, the decree was reversed by the Division of Justice.