The curtains have officially closed on Alamo Drafthouse in Dallas-Fort Worth.
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The Metroplex’s five locations in Richardson, Las Colinas, Lake Highlands, Dallas and Denton abruptly closed Thursday after franchise operator Two is One, One is None filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Representatives with the firm cited several reasons for the filing, including a sharp downturn in foot traffic, high franchise fees and contract provisions that required unprofitable locations to remain open.
Industrywide guest counts have yet to rebound to pre-pandemic levels, the franchisee told various news outlets. To make matters worse, last year’s writer and actor strikes caused the movie theater business to record its worst-ever performance in the first quarter.
Those factors, along with the parent company’s refusal to reduce franchise fees and allow the closure of struggling theaters, were enough to push Two is One, One is None over the edge, even after infusing $3.5M to try to save the business, the company said in its statement.
The closures will impact more than 600 employees and come on the heels of rumors that Alamo Drafthouse owners were gauging interest among Hollywood film executives to buy the business earlier this year.
The Texas-based company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2021, citing severe financial strain brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, though the company was reportedly back in growth mode in 2023.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema said in a statement that it was deeply disappointed to learn about the bankruptcy filing, and that it is working to reopen locations in the DFW market as quickly as possible.
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