I saw this summer’s Marvel movie in the theater on Sunday. A bit of a last minute idea so we ended up going to the “legacy” movie theater across the highway. Before I continue, It’s important to understand my local cinema dynamics. We have two theaters here in Austin: The Alamo Drafthouse and All Other Cinemas.

The best place to see movies in Austin is at the Alamo Drafthouse. If you’ve never been to an Alamo, I’m sorry. It’s a movie theater for people who love movies by people who love movies. They craft the entire art house experience from end-to-end. From the custom pre-screener of thematically topical clips, to the strict no late arrival and no texting policies, to custom food and drink options that match the latest blockbuster movie. A waiter brings you food, drinks, and refills so you don’t have to leave your seat. The trailers are a tight 15 minutes announcing new releases and special events where they bring back old movie classics (set to an era-appropriate soundtrack, of course). Every year they have an indie movie festival to showcase the weirdest films the industry has to offer. Going to the Alamo is a thoughtful experience through and through and they sell out nearly every show opening week. You pay more going to the Alamo of course but I think everyone would agree it’s worth it for most movies unless you’re looking for a quick n’ dirty alternative.

Contrast that to the “legacy” theater. I call it the legacy theater because this was the nice, brand new theater when I went to college 25 years ago; one of those big 24-screen nationwide chain movieplexes with a four-machine arcade and stadium seating. Six plexiglass teller windows tell the history of how popular this destination was in its time. It’s flagship theater is an enormous 4D IMAX. It of course (like the Alamo) has the push button recliners and swivel food trays. The nicest thing about the “legacy” theater is that there’s always open seats and that’s where the problems start to reveal themselves…

The first thing you notice at the “legacy” theater is that no one occupies the teller windows anymore. Instead you go inside to meet a greasy teenager who scans a QR code for the ticket you have to buy online. You go to the snack bar and load up on enormous free refill tubs of popcorn, drinks, and overpriced candy; it’s almost certainly a $50 stop. Then you go to the nearly empty theater and wonder if you walked into the wrong theater by accident. Before the movie starts you sit through the hokey pre-screen trivia and local ads and when the start time hits… you watch 35 (!!!) more minutes of ads with a couple trailers mixed in. And after all that you’re out of snacks and the movie starts.

The user experience contrast between the two couldn’t be more stark. One is thoughtful and compounds the experience at every turn and the other is enshittified with ads. One keeps you wanting to come back and the other makes you wonder why you came here in the first place (or worse, it makes you want to leave). At least its clean, I guess. One sees attention as precious and not-to-be-disturbed, the other sees you as captured by sunk costs and a pair of monetizable eyeballs. One will sell you a fresh pizza, a popcorn, and a couple refillable sodas for $50 and the other will sell you day-old popcorn, an impossibly large cup of soda, and some Sour Patch Kids for $50… after you do the math, the better experience isn’t any more expensive so it’s not even competing on price.

It’s no wonder why the “legacy” theater is always empty. I bet its owners would love to see all the seats full again. It all comes down to UX. One works hard creates a vibrant scene and fosters a culture1 for people who like films, the other is real “death of cinema” vibes. People (sometimes thousands!) put so much effort into these films to make the best film possible, only to have that experience ruined in the last mile. It’s tragic and I guess I’ll just catch it when it comes to streaming.

In related news, last year Sony Entertainment acquired Alamo Drafthouse. I’m not sure if that makes it more or less probable that you’ll be able to experience an Alamo in the future. We’ll see where it goes from here. Hopefully they can continue their relentless focus on the user experience.

  1. I’d be remiss if I didn’t call out the #metoo and union busting issues that were happening behind-the-scenes at Alamo and revealed in 2022. While Alamo has done a lot to create immense cultural capital here in Austin, that ascent has not been without enabled bad behavior. Similar issues plague Hollywood too. ↩