Special to the Sun
Innovative Austin-based theater chain, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, is pleased to announce that its first-ever New England location, Alamo Drafthouse Seaport, will be opening its doors to guests on November 17th. The theater’s standalone bar, The Press Room, will also be making its Boston debut.
“This theater has been in the works for a long time, and to see it become this really unique space for Boston film fans to celebrate cinema together, we just couldn’t be more excited,” said Michael Kustermann, Alamo Drafthouse CEO. “Boston has an awesome movie history, it’s an amazing city, and we’re honored to add something to that legacy that we think our guests are really going to enjoy.”
Tickets for the cinema’s opening weekend are now available for purchase, giving guests a chance to reserve their seats for some of the holiday season’s biggest movies at the new theater in advance. During the soft opening period running from 11/17 to 11/22, guests will also enjoy a 20% discount on select menu items and scratch-and-win cards for a chance to win prizes with every visit. True movie fans can also sign up for Alamo Season Pass, a monthly subscription service that offers unlimited movies, up to one per day, for one killer price. Any Boston guest that joins between November 1st and February 1st, 2024, will get their second month free. Full subscription and offer details can be found online by scanning the QR code.
Alamo Drafthouse will celebrate its first Boston theater with a special Grand Opening event on November 16th, featuring a theater tour for media, a VIP mixer, and screenings of some highly anticipated upcoming films. The exact titles are being kept secret for now, but it promises to be a memorable evening for Boston film fans.
“Boston is a city that loves movies, loves food, and loves interesting and excellent things to do, and we want to add to all of them with the opening of Alamo Drafthouse Seaport,” said Alex Shebar, Alamo Drafthouse East Coast Community Marketing Manager. “The outpouring of support we’ve gotten over social media and at the local events we’ve already held has been overwhelming. Now the doors are almost open and we’re as psyched as you are.”
Alamo Drafthouse Seaport is a 10-screen theater with 780 seats and will feature a signature mix of first-run films and curated specialty programming, an extensive made-from-scratch food and beverage menu, and luxury recliner seating throughout every auditorium. The new theater is located at 60 Seaport Blvd. in the South Boston Waterfront’s new Seaport Square development, a living, dining, retail, and entertainment hub with co-tenants that include lululemon, Scorpion Bar, Tuscan Kitchen, Flight Club, Kings Bowling, and Equinox.
“We are thrilled to welcome Alamo Drafthouse to Seaport and be home to its first Boston location. It’s a best-in-class theater that brings movies and dining together to create an all around exceptional and fun experience for everyone,” says Ariel Foxman, General Manager, Seaport Boston WS Development.
Alamo Drafthouse Seaport’s 10 screens will showcase the company’s diverse mix of blockbusters, indies, documentaries, foreign language films, repertory classics, unique special events like Movie Party celebrations of fan favorites (Beetlejuice, Legally Blonde, Ghostbusters), deep dives into hardcore cinephilia, and family-friendly choices like low-cost Kids Camp screenings. Guests can look forward to seeing all of the holiday season’s biggest new releases, including Trolls Band Together, The Marvels, Napoleon, Saltburn, Dream Scenario, Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom, and American Fiction. Beloved holiday classics will also be gracing its screens, including Elf Movie Parties, White Christmas Brunch Screenings, Champagne Cinema screenings of Love Actually, and much more.
Each auditorium will be equipped with top-of-the-line digital 4K projection and dynamic surround sound, and fully outfitted with luxury recliners complete with footrests, ensuring every seat in the house offers a viewing experience of unparalleled comfort. Continuing the company’s commitment to preserving 35mm, Alamo Drafthouse Boston Seaport will also feature 35mm changeover projection so that both classic films and new releases can be experienced in glorious celluloid.
Alamo Drafthouse Seaport’s separate, full-service bar, The Press Room, is much more than just a great place to grab a drink after a movie. Featuring craft cocktails, wine, and local beers on tap, The Press Room also focuses on a historically significant collection of mid-20th century cinema newspaper advertising printing blocks. Guests are encouraged to take a self-guided tour in order to learn all about how letterpress printing, old-school graphic arts, and the newspaper industry influenced generations of movie-goers. The collection comes to life when the original 1940 Vandercook No. 4 proof press is inked up and skilled printmakers give guests a glimpse into a bygone era when the newspaper reigned supreme.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema was founded in 1997 as a single-screen mom and pop repertory theater in Austin, TX. Twenty-six years later, with 39 locations and counting, Alamo Drafthouse has been called “the best theater in America” by Entertainment Weekly and “the best theater in the world” by Wired. Alamo Drafthouse has built a reputation as a movie lover’s oasis not only by combining best-in-class food and drink service with the movie-going experience, but also introducing unique programming and high-profile, star-studded special events. Alamo Drafthouse created Fantastic Fest, a world-renowned genre film festival dubbed “The Geek Telluride” by Variety featuring independents, international filmmakers, and major Hollywood studios. Alamo Drafthouse continues to expand its brand in new and exciting ways, including the American Genre Film Archive, a non-profit film archive dedicated to preserving, restoring and sharing film, and with several new theaters announced for this year and beyond.