The Austin, Texas-based theater chain had managed the difficult feat of expanding its footprint nationally, popping up in major metropolises such as New York and Los Angeles without losing its indie spirit. Its unabashed love of all things cinema, menus crammed with craft beer and locally sourced snacks, and themed events with A-list talent like Wes Anderson and Rian Johnson made Alamo the envy of the exhibition industry. And then in March 2020, disaster struck.
“The Alamo news was a shot in the gut,” says Jeff Bock, a box office analyst with Exhibitor Relations. “This was a company that seemed to be doing everything right. If they filed for bankruptcy, it meant no one was safe. Film distribution is a precarious, low-margin business and it’s probably going to continue to be that way over the next few months or even years as we ride the wave of consumer confidence.
“They’re investing in a company that they believe in,” says League. “They’re looking to see us survive and thrive and continue the work we’re doing.” “For 15-plus years we’ve made every payment on time, and now all of a sudden we’re in a bad spot,” says Taylor. “Some vendors have been great about helping us try to figure out a solution, and some of them just don’t care. They need their payment and it’s our problem and not theirs. I logically don’t understand that.”
League’s life in movies started modestly enough. He was an engineer by training, but, dissatisfied with his career at Shell Oil, he began daydreaming about a way to get into the film business. After a failed attempt to create a cinema in a run-down part of Bakersfield, Calif., an effort that collapsed in part over his inability to get a liquor license, League and his wife, Karrie, moved back in with her parents.
League wants to recapture that momentum. Last year, he brought in Taylor, a former Starbucks executive who had helped oversee the coffee giant’s expansion in China, to help Alamo grow. Even though the exhibitor is shuttering some of its venues as part of the bankruptcy, League says Altamont and Fortress are committed to helping the chain continue to find new cities to plant its flag. And he thinks the pandemic will give him some opportunities to get bigger.
League isn’t overly concerned with the prospect of keeping movies in theaters for shorter periods of time. Alamo hasn’t signed on to the Universal proposal, but the theater chain says it’s willing to talk with the studio and its brethren about finding some sort of compromise. And Alamo is willing to listen, particularly if it can share in the home entertainment revenue.
All Western exhibitors have done since last March is talk about 'pent-up demand' believing as the voice in Field of Dreams 'if you build it they will come' but do little to make the majority feel safe to return
The key part of his comment is, 'when things feel safe' as ever since July when movie theatres reopened the majority haven't felt safe, as the difference between the West and China is they had far stricter safety measures when they reopened which gave public confidence to return
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Source: Variety - 🏆 108. / 63 Read more »
Source: Variety - 🏆 108. / 63 Read more »