Alamo Drafthouse Will Begin Offering Private Theater Rentals for 30 People, for Only $150

It really doesn’t seem like this particular moment is likely the best time to get 30 of your closest friends together for a movie screening, but if you’ve got an entire theater to split between you, perhaps social distancing can still occur. That’s presumably what Alamo Drafthouse is thinking, as the popular indie theater chain has announced it will be rolling out a new program in several locations, allowing patrons to rent entire theaters for up to 30 friends and family, choosing from a list of 40 films they’d like to screen. The low cost is the real attention-getter: Just $150 for the rental, although customers will also be required to put down a minimum group food purchase of $150 as well. Still, with 30 guests that certainly wouldn’t be hard to pull off.

In fact, with 30 guests, both food and drink would work out to just $10 per head, which is considerably less than simply attending a normal film screening at a national theater chain. Plus, the private option limits your movie-watching companions to just your friends and family—sounds like a win-win, if you ask us.

The choices of films to screen, meanwhile, lean toward modern and classic family fare, with selections such as Despicable Me, E.T. and How to Train Your Dragon, but there’s also some more adult selections like 1941, A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Matrix. Of note: There’s also a few oddball, bizarre inclusions that nobody could ever have expected, with a focus on the career of John Carpenter that includes They Live and the 1995 remake of Village of the Damned with Christopher Reeve. If someone selects that particular film for their screening, we will be very surprised, but stranger things have happened.

The “Your Own Private Alamo” program launches this week in Austin, TX and Denver, CO, but it can be assumed that it will expand to other Alamo Drafthouse locations around the country if it proves successful as a money-maker, and doesn’t prove a threat to transmission of the coronavirus. Those living in these areas can book screenings via the Alamo Drafthouse website.

Personally, this is the sort of program I’d love to see stick around after the pandemic has finally receded, as it represents a truly unique option for a movie night out with friends. Who wouldn’t want to have their own private theater for 30 friends, firing up a screening of Jaws or Jurassic Park? Complete with real movie theater popcorn, it’s sort of a dream come true.

You can check out the full list of film titles available for the “Your Own Private Alamo” program below.

ABOMINABLE
DESPICABLE ME
DESPICABLE ME 3
DOLITTLE
DR. SEUSS’ THE GRINCH (2018)
E.T.
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
KUNG FU PANDA
MINIONS
SECRET LIFE OF PETS
SHREK
SING
SPIRIT: STALLION OF CIMARRON
THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS
THE IRON GIANT
THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE
THE MUPPET MOVIE
TROLLS
1941
ALWAYS
CASABLANCA
DUEL
PRINCE OF DARKNESS
SIXTEEN CANDLES
THE GOONIES
THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK
THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS
UNCLE BUCK
VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (1995)
WEIRD SCIENCE
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET
AQUAMAN
BATMAN (1989)
BREAKFAST CLUB
GREMLINS
JAWS
JURASSIC PARK
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
SUPERMAN (1978)
THE LOST BOYS
THE MATRIX
THE THING (1982)
THEY LIVE
WONDER WOMAN