Today, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema announced plans to expand beyond their San Francisco theater location and open two new theaters in the South Bay. The theaters, which will be located in Mountain View and Santa Clara, will open by the summer of 2025, marking the 10 year anniversary of Alamo’s presence in the Bay Area.
Alamo Drafthouse to Open Two South Bay Theaters in 2025
A rendering of Alamo Drafthouse Mountain View at The Village at San Antonio Center. (Courtesy Alamo Drafthouse)
Alamo Drafthouse New Mission Theater opened in San Francisco in 2015 — the first new movie theater in the city since — our critic hazarded at the time — 1999. In the years since, a number of beloved theaters and film programs have shut down across the Bay Area, even as audiences’ appetite for high quality in-person moviegoing seems to have grown.
“We’re always looking for new locations that feel like great fits,” said John Smith, Alamo Drafthouse’s West Coast marketing director. “It’s really awesome that we’re able to continue that momentum and head down to the South Bay.”
The new theaters will take over former ShowPlace ICON locations at The Village at San Antonio Center and Westfield Valley Fair.
Today’s news comes six months after Sony Pictures Entertainment purchased the Alamo Drafthouse franchise. When asked if there would be changes to any of Alamo Drafthouse’s programming as a result of the new ownership, Smith offered reassurance that there’s no intention of implementing any major changes.
“We’re going to continue being the best place to see not just big blockbuster films like Wicked, but mainstream specialties like Nosferatu, independent films like The Substance, [and] also to see the best films that have ever been made back on the big screen [like] Lord of the Rings,” Smith told KQED.
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“That flexibility and ability to serve audiences that are in these communities with a great mix of film and experiences is essential to Alamo,” he added. “I don’t think anything’s going to change.”
As in-person entertainment continues to bounce back from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Smith says the timing for Alamo Drafthouse’s new locations couldn’t be better.
“Film is alive,” Smith said. “There’s audiences for all sorts of films, and … we’ll be there to reach out to them, and give them a sanctuary to come experience film.”
