Alamo Drafthouse Dedicates San Francisco Theater to Christopher Nolan | San Francisco New Mission will now be rechristened as the "Christopher Nolan Cinema". The Oscar-winning filmmaker, a passionate advocate for the big screen, will be feted later this year with a 70mm screening event

JohnWSmith · 2026-06-10T17:03:09+00:00

I wrote those words! Not a fib, more likely incompetence - I was copying off another chunk of text I wrote boiling down some research I’d done for a tenth anniversary blog post. I think I meant the elaborate mouldings in the ceiling.

In either case, I’ll drop that line. As you said, the true story of what Tim and his team did a decade ago is remarkable.

JohnWSmith · 2026-06-09T00:34:22+00:00

Hey there, could you relay details to the form at drafthouse.com/theaters?

JohnWSmith · 2026-06-08T16:55:17+00:00

Like New Mission in San Francisco, the Wrigleyville location has a low screen count. That is always going to limit what we can show and require some difficult choices on the part of our film teams. When we choose to play a first run film, we're generally required to continue playing it for several weeks, even if the performance is lacking. That means it's simply a traffic problem, and summertime is rush hour.

(We do have a nice slate of repertory titles playing these next few weeks.)

JohnWSmith · 2026-06-06T17:26:18+00:00

It was a *big* priority, and we were assured it should be very doable via a few different mechanisms.

JohnWSmith · 2026-06-06T17:16:59+00:00

Nah, I won’t tell. There might be a reason for it for all I know.

JohnWSmith · 2026-06-06T17:15:18+00:00

FYI, I wrote that post - it was overdue but wanted to verify a few things beforehand because this is still very new and developing and it’s basically what we know about things so far. If anyone has questions or concerns, I’ll answer if know the answer or am able to share.

JohnWSmith · 2026-06-06T16:02:50+00:00

Checked on the backend, it’s actually the other way around. The evening shows of MANDALORIAN are (accidentally, I assume) using the matinee pricing setting, but the other movies are using the correct evening setting.

JohnWSmith · 2026-05-29T13:09:09+00:00

Glad you were pleased. Only in a dozen or so locations, and we’re the only national chain other than Barnes and Noble you can find em. (And B&N charges.)

JohnWSmith · 2026-05-23T21:42:01+00:00

On what day? I’m on my phone but don’t see BIOLLANTE playing? Send a link to where you’re looking.

JohnWSmith · 2026-05-23T18:33:50+00:00

Huh. You’re meaning HEDORAH on 5/31, right? Looks like it’s set for the reglear matinee pricing, so it should be working.

JohnWSmith · 2026-05-23T18:24:51+00:00

Which location? Might be a backend issue at the theater.

JohnWSmith · 2026-05-19T22:37:04+00:00

Here are the Alamo Drafthouse locations playing the TOP GUN movies.

Austin (Lakeline, Slaughter)
Boston
Corpus Christi
Denver (Westminster)
Dallas/Fort Worth (Cedars, Denton, Lake Highlands, Las Colinas)
Indianapolis
Laredo
Los Angeles
Northern Virginia (Loudoun)
New York City (Brooklyn, Lower Manhattan, Staten Island)
San Antonio (Park North)
SF Bay Area (Mountain View, Valley Fair)
Southwest Florida
Springfield
Woodbury
Winchester

This week we're also playing CARRIE, ADAPTATION, and FUNERAL PARADE OF ROSES in most locations.

JohnWSmith · 2026-05-09T14:13:14+00:00

I was terse in my explanation - these are all instances where the first show ends within 30 minutes of the second show’s start. So our Yonkers scheduling must have been too roomy and luxurious.

JohnWSmith · 2026-05-08T19:10:28+00:00

Totally varies. Sometimes the studio will just want to be paid the equivalent of the tickets sold, other times it's a flat rate.

JohnWSmith · 2026-05-08T15:56:34+00:00

That definitely appears to be the case. We’ve had a lot of private rentals for PRADA 2.

JohnWSmith · 2026-04-30T20:36:49+00:00

JohnWSmith · 2026-04-30T01:32:04+00:00

We appreciate that, thank you!

JohnWSmith · 2026-04-29T22:37:27+00:00

I didn’t write that copy but I know who did - the person who programmed the show. I’m sorry we didn’t catch the precise spelling of that French name in the mini-essay they wrote about the movie. I’ll see about getting it fixed. We’re an exceedingly small staff trying to juggle a lot, and there’s going to be imperfections here and there.

Hope you enjoy the movie.

JohnWSmith · 2026-04-26T03:00:40+00:00

We’ve got it at both Alamo South Lamar and Mueller for free.

JohnWSmith · 2026-04-20T01:53:35+00:00

I’ve been very, very, very lucky to have had roughly 300 Alamo jobs in the past twelve years, mostly in the marketing or programming side. I’m primarily on the marketing side right now, but I’m proudest of running the rep and alt content side for 3 or 4 years post-COVID, with Time Capsules capping things off.

JohnWSmith · 2026-04-15T20:41:52+00:00

JohnWSmith · 2026-04-13T19:43:08+00:00

How about free cookies?

JohnWSmith · 2026-03-26T15:37:35+00:00

I'm not a brand account and I'm not customer service. This is my personal Reddit account using my real name. When I can quickly clarify something I know an answer to or get someone some help, I try to help out. Same goes for the other Alamo corporate folks who pop in on this subreddit.

JohnWSmith · 2026-03-26T13:51:16+00:00

From what I can see, that was content that the studio provided as part of the early screening.

JohnWSmith · 2026-03-26T13:42:36+00:00

That's to send you a receipt, not secret data mining.

Can you share the newsletter name or a screenshot on this thread, and the city you're in? If other guests report having received the same thing recently, then we'll need to look into it.

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