The Alamo Drafthouse movie theater chain is best known for two things: Its quirky arthouse vibes and its infamous zero-tolerance no cell phones policy. The AD is so serious about patrons not being on their phones while a movie is playing that ushers will eject you without a refund if they catch you. Another thing that sets Alamo apart from other big movie theater chains is their food ordering system. Movie-goers handwrite their orders down on little pieces of paper for ushers to come around and collect.
Well, the times, they are a-changin’ and Alamo is trying to keep up with them. This week, they announced that beginning in February, they’re rolling out a new mobile-only ordering system. The ordering screen will be a “custom-built dark-screen” and it will also allow customers to pay directly from their phone. As you can imagine, some people are not happy about this.
Beginning next month, Alamo Drafthouse locations nationwide will expand a “custom-built dark-screen mobile ordering system” that the company says will allow customers to browse the full menu, order before and during films, and pay directly from their phones via a QR code. The system will replace the traditional pen-and-paper ordering. Food and drinks will still be delivered directly to customers’ seats.
The company says the new model aims to improve efficiency while “continuing to protect what makes the brand special: an elevated, immersive, and a more distraction-free way to enjoy movies.” Alamo Drafthouse says it has seen “very promising results” so far regarding faster service under the mobile ordering model.
“We continue to evolve, as we must, to protect the Alamo movie-going experience as the entertainment landscape shifts around us, without ever losing sight of who we are,” Alamo Drafthouse CEO Michael Kustermann said in a press release. “Putting ordering control directly in our guests’ hands allows us to move faster and more efficiently, creating a smoother, more responsive experience without added distraction. This new service model is a custom, smart, and flexible way to strengthen our long-term health, protect our future, and ensure we can continue serving our guests, supporting our team, and reaffirming our love of cinema for years to come, no matter what’s happening around us.”
Alamo Drafthouse says this shift will not impact its famously strict policy against talking and texting during movies. The company says while dark screen mobile ordering will be allowed, scrolling on social media, recording the screen, taking phone calls, talking, arriving late and being disruptive will remain prohibited.
Social media response to Alamo Drafthouse’s announcement has been overwhelmingly negative. One thread on the Alamo Drafthouse subreddit has nearly 500 comments, including discussions about cancelling Season Pass subscriptions.
Since Alamo Drafthouse made its announcement on Friday, its national and Austin-specific Instagram accounts have made around a dozen posts unrelated to mobile ordering. The comments on all of the posts are flooded with movie-goers unhappy with the coming changes.
“Alamo is the only theater we’ve gone to since 2017. 9 years of only Alamo with a season pass. We will stop going when cell phones are allowed throughout the movie. If I want to be on my phone on a movie I’ll just stay home,” one comment reads. “More workers, less screens.”
“Alamo becomes EMPTY if you switch to QR codes,” another comment reads. On the same post, a commenter said, “Add me to the list of people that will probably cancel my season pass if you go to phone ordering in theaters. One of the main reasons I attend Alamo screenings is because of the lack of phones or talking allowed during movies.”
There’s actually a Change.org petition going around to try and convince the Alamo Drafthouse Powers That Be to keep things the status quo. My husband has always been an Alamo fan because of their no cell phones policy. He has no problem asking someone to put their phone away or stop talking. (I kid you not, when we saw Conclave, someone in our row was watching TikTok during the movie and he was the only person to say something to them.) When he heard about this news, his main concern was that people would take advantage of having their phones out and before long, it would be like any other theater experience. Personally, I like the convenience of being able to order and pay from your phone. I’m sorry! I wish that our local, non-Alamo Drafthouse theater had that option because I would take full advantage of it. But, still, I get it. There are so few phone-free sanctuaries nowadays, and filmmakers are already having to adapt for viewers that are going to be on their phones. It feels like another member of an old guard has fallen.
Boston must have been a test city because the last 2 times I went to Alamo Seaport, ordering or paying by phone was an option.
How did it work out? Was it annoying or distracting?
It was a bit confusing. Nobody in my row knew what we were doing and none of us wanted to use our phones
This is why I stopped going to theatres years ago. Cellphones and meals in the theatre. When I watch a film on the big screen I want to be immersed in the experience, not distracted by small, glowing screens, vacuous chatter throughout all the while shoveling nachos into their mouths like it’s their last meal on earth. I feel like all of this is just a continuum of disrespect and lack of consideration for others that we are increasingly seeing everywhere, on flights, in politics, etc, No thank you. Vacating my soapbox now 😊
Serious question. I’ve never been to an AD. How did you pay for the food that was ordered on paper? Was there an honor system? I assume the staff didn’t bring mobile systems to your chair, easily as disruptive as a phone.
They go around near the end of the film and leave your check, then come back and collect payment
Oh wow. That is old school. I mean, that’s how restaurants work of course but in a dark theater you aren’t building a waiter/customer relationship, so it seems like there is an element of the honor system. Thanks for explaining!
I used to live in Austin and went often to the OG Alamo Drafthouse on Anderson as it was my neighborhood theater. It was such a haven from the typical theater experience plus the food was good and affordable.
Keep in mind AD is a corporate behemoth owned by Sony; they bought it in 2024 from a hedge fund group the founder sold the AD brand to in the early 2000’s. Long way of saying it’s long been migrating away from not local “Keep Austin Weird” (also a major misnomer!) vibe of its early days, this is just the next step in the evolution.
@DAVEW I’m also a former Austinite and this is my first time hearing about AD being sold! What a devastating development and AD was the only movie theater chain I frequented. I still visit Austin regularly and will go to AD if there’s a movie I want to see. But now, I’m not sure how they will enforce their wonderfully strict policies while allowing this mobile ordering system. Too many people will be tempted and will break those rules/policies, thereby ruining movie viewing for everyone.