Cinema Chain Alamo Drafthouse Files For Chapter 11

The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, a popular cinema chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, has filed for Chapter 11. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the chain, which also has locations in states including New York, Virginia, and California, has a deal in place to sell its assets to Altamont Capital and Fortress Investment Group--which will allow Alamo to restructure its business and try to weather the storm of the coronavirus's impact on its business.

"The transaction will provide the company with much-needed incremental financing to stabilize the business during the pandemic, which has had an unprecedented and outsized impact upon the movie theater and dining industries," a statement from the company said (via the Austin American-Statesman). "More importantly, it will position Alamo Drafthouse to return to growth and continue executing on its long-term strategic vision."

The Alamo was an early adopter of what became an emerging trend last year among movie theaters: Allowing patrons to rent theaters for private viewing parties. As this filing indicates, the novel manuever was not enough to buoy business.

Still, The Alamo is optimistic. "Because of the increase in vaccination availability, a very exciting slate of new releases, and pent-up audience demand, we're extremely confident that by the end of 2021, the cinema industry--and our theaters specifically--will be thriving," said Alamo Drafthouse co-founder Tim League. Take a look at our list of the biggest movies to watch in 2021 for a sense of what, maybe, just maybe, we will all be able to see in theaters later this year.