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Summary
Sony PicturesEntertainment ’s recent acquisition of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema chain marks the first metre a major Hollywood studio has own a field of operations chain in over seven decades . Hollywood and the major studio persist in to adjust to the rapidly evolving landscape painting of the entertainment industry , which has been greatly disrupt as tech companies such as Netflix , Amazon , and Apple gain ground more and more impulse and bulge in both the streaming and theatrical spaces . With the move , Sony has break new ground in the twenty-first century as its competitors continue to expand their streaming services , which Sony notably does not offer .
Before 2020,Sony ’s acquisition of Alamo Drafthousewould have been illegal under the Paramount Consent Decrees as implemented by the United States Department of Justice . The Alamo Drafthouse house chain was establish in 1997 in Austin , Texas , and has expanded across the United States to major cities such asBoston , Los Angeles , San Francisco , New York City , Chicago , Houston , Dallas , St. Louis , and Denver . Alamo Drafthouse filed for bankruptcy in March 2021 , which precede to the closedown of several location and canceled expansion plans . The amount that Sony Pictures paid to adopt Alamo Drafthouse is estimated to be around $ 200 million ( perDeadline ) .
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Sony Pictures' Purchase Of Alamo Drafthouse Explained
Sony will operate the theater chain under a new division while retaining Alamo’s CEO
As part of Sony Pictures ' acquisition of Alamo Drafthouse , the major studio will own and operate the existing 35 locations that are presently assailable across the United States .
Alamo Drafthouse offers a signature experience for moving-picture show - goers with its original preview content , first-class solid food and drink menu that can be consecrate during viewing with the push of a button from your seat , and a rigorous no public lecture , no text policy that is typically enforced . As part of Sony Pictures ' acquisition of Alamo Drafthouse , the major studio will own and engage the live 35 locations that are presently open across the United States . The mickle also include the right to the Fantastic Fest cinema fete take for annually in Austin , Texas since 2005.Alamo antecedently bug out its streaming service " Alamo On Demand"in 2020 which has since exclude down .
The best news show coming out of this deal is that the Alamo Drafthouse movie house chain , which is beloved by many everyday viewers and cinephiles alike , will not be forced to close down anytime soon . PerVariety , " Alamo has been restfully soliciting offers for the retiring several calendar month , but had struggled to ascertain a emptor . Under its new ownership , Alamo Drafthouse will be managed under a new establish section , Sony Pictures Experiences . " Even under Sony ’s new ownership , the CEO of Alamo Drafthouse Michael Kustermann will continue to hold his positionand act as the head of Sony Pictures Enterprises .
It ’s unclear exactly how Sony be after to best utilize its learning of Alamo Drafthouse or how the deal will impact the offer title available to screen at Alamo ’s 35 countrywide locations . Sony will likely not prohibit sure movies from its competitors from being screened in its theaters , which sound like it would enter some legal gray areas , but like a streaming service could licence sure original titles to be screened only through Alamo theaters . Sony also owns and operates its Sony Pictures Classics and could offer exciting and undivided screeningsof some of its best productions , such asCall Me By Your Name , Whiplash , andCrouching Tiger , Hidden Dragon .
Three years after the film ’s release , I can not believe Sony still has not utilized No Way Home ’s best rig up for The Amazing Spider - Man 3 .
Why A Movie Studio Hasn’t Owned A Major Theater Chain Since The 1940s (& How Sony Can Now)
United States law made it illegal for studios to own theaters from 1948 until 2020
The Paramount Consent Decrees were established in 1948 by the U.S. Department of Justice to preclude major studios , such as Sony , from outright possess any picture theatre of operations chains or exhibition companies .
The Paramount Consent Decrees were established in 1948 by the U.S. Department of Justice to prevent major studios , such as Sony , from outright owning any movie house chains or exhibition companies . This essentially single - handedly changed the base of the old studio system in Hollywood , making it illegal for studios to hold exclusive distribution and exhibition rightfulness to their own production . The Paramount Consent Decrees were enforce to uphold the United States antitrust lawsthat were implemented to elevate mediocre contest in the amusement manufacture .
As the film and theater of operations industries modernize in the late 20th century , certain exclusion were made that mince some of the regulation of the Paramount Consent Decrees . Sony and Universal part owned the former theater chain Loews during the 1990s , with the theater chain initially planning to interchange its name to Sony Theatres . These relaxed regulation made it potential for multiple studios , and even major companies like Coca - Cola , to partly own movie dramaturgy chains , since it did n’t inevitably impede on antimonopoly laws . Whenthe Paramount Consent Decrees were overturn in 2020 by the U.S. Department of Justice , this opened the door for Sony to make a bold yet 100 % legal move to acquire Alamo whole .
Between Venom , Morbius , and Madame Web , Sony have had an mismatched box office run with their latest take on a Spider - Man cinematic universe .
Is Sony Pictures Buying Alamo Drafthouse A Good Or Bad Thing?
Sony’s move is bold but completely legal with potential antitrust risks in the future
The U.S. Department of Justice overturn the Paramount Consent Decrees because the old Hollywood studio system could not be replicate in modern times .
Sony Pictures owning and control Alamo Drafthouse is first and first of all completely legal but virtually unprecedented in modern times . This makes the entire place complicated since there ’s really nothing in recent chronicle to compare it to . The Hollywood studio apartment organization are no longer entirely running the entertainment industry , thanks to technical school and cyclosis disruptors . The rules against studio apartment owning theater were put in place for a reasondue to thing like block booking , or " bundle multiple motion picture into one theater license " , and circuit transaction , which involves " go in into one license that covered all theaters in a theater circuit " ( viaThe Hollywood Reporter ) .
The old studio system did terminate up crumbling in response to the Paramount Consent Decrees , but it ’s important to observe just how dissimilar the framework of Hollywood is nowadays . The U.S. Department of Justice rescinded the Paramount Consent Decrees because the old Hollywood studio apartment organization could not be replicated in modern times , chiefly due to all the well - established independently owned theater chains , distribution company , and cyclosis service . This all currently promotes rivalry and no longer profane antimonopoly law , sothe Sony - Alamo might not be that big of a mountain as it stands ( yet ) .
Custom Image by Yeider Chacon
On the other hand , the deal is worry from an antimonopoly standpoint and the potential for monopolisation is certainly a concern , especially now thatwe are see more and more unification of studios and streaming serviceslike Disney and Fox in late twelvemonth . Netflix and Amazon also own theatre , so Sony is not the first to test the post - Paramount Consent Decree landscape painting . finally , the Sony - Alamo bargain could further bestow to having everything in product , dispersion , and exhibition shrink down to just a few companies . The bounteous takeaway from all this is that theater range of mountains are struggling more than ever , even ones like Alamo that extend an elevated moviegoing experience , andSony Picturesstepped in to save it .
Sources : Deadline , Variety , The Hollywood Reporter
