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Alamo Drafthouse lays off Austin employees amid box office slump, new ownership

Two cars drive past the Alamo Drafthouse theatre building on South Lamar Blvd.
Karina Lujan for KUT News
Austin's homegrown chain, Alamo Drafthouse, laid off some employees as part of a restructuring.

Alamo Drafthouse, the national theater chain that started as a ramshackle, downtown dine-in movie theater, has laid off staff amid an industry-wide slowdown.

News of the layoffs was first reported by The Austin Chronicle. It comes amid a slump in ticket sales.

A spokesperson for Alamo confirmed the chain laid off 15 support and technical staff on the corporate side, as well as a number of hourly employees at theaters.

The spokesperson would not specify the number of hourly staffers let go, but said it was an internal decision, not a mandate from the chain's new owners, Sony Pictures. The spokesperson also said employees would be eligible to re-apply for the positions when they reopen. Drafthouse anticipates a resurgence in box office ticket sales this year, the spokesperson said, and doesn't plan on closing any locations in 2025.

Drafthouse United, the union representing Austin Drafthouse workers, said on its GoFundMe page that the company let go "about 25%" of its hourly employees "with no warning." The union did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Last year, Sony bought the chain, which has been struggling to expand post-pandemic. While Alamo opened a handful of locations across the country following the COVID-19 pandemic, it also sold its flagship Ritz Theater location in downtown Austin and filed for bankruptcy in 2021.

Alamo was bought by Sony for an undisclosed amount last June. Since then, the company has opened three locations across the country and reopened five North Texas franchises that had closed shortly before the Sony buyout.

Still, theaters across the country have struggled to reel in would-be moviegoers. The film industry overall saw a 3% dip in ticket sales in 2024 compared to the year before, according to Variety.

Andrew Weber is KUT's government accountability reporter. Got a tip? You can email him at aweber@kut.org. Follow him on Twitter @England_Weber.
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