digital menus and QR codes come to the Alamo Drafthouse

by Jay, San Diego, Friday, April 10, 2026, 13:18 (9 days ago)

We don't have an Alamo near us, but I know it was an exceptional moviegoing experience before these latest changes.

Venerable NY film critic David Ehrlich went on an extended (and enjoyable) rant called "The Absolute Hell of Watching a Movie at the Alamo Drafthouse in 2026".

https://www.indiewire.com/features/commentary/alamo-drafthouse-sucks-now-1235188253/

The situation appears to have degraded even further after Sony Pictures acquired the entire business in the summer of 2024 (thanks for nothing, Paramount Decrees!), a move that precipitated mass layoffs across the board despite healthy annual profits.

Surprisingly, firing a slew of hard-working people in order to flatter the bottom line didn’t make for a happier workplace — or for more equitable business practices (a trio of strikes popped off in February of 2025, two of which lasted for 58 days). What it did, and perhaps had always been intended to do, was to set the stage for one of the most idiotic, nonsensical, brand-nuking heel-turns in the long and sordid history of late capitalism.

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Like an evil blight spreading across the land from the spires of Mordor, Alamo’s new phone-based service model began to roll out in February as part of a hilariously misguided effort to “reduce distractions and, in the long term, make the experience even better.” Or maybe I’m looking at it from the wrong POV, and the Drafthouse’s initiative is part of a ruthlessly calculated effort to reduce distractions and make the experience even better for them (by “distractions” they mean “employees,” and by “make the experience better” they mean “lol go fuck yourselves”).

The chain’s website goes on to claim that “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.” Based on my limited experience with this new system, however, pivoting to QR codes will only allow the Drafthouse to move faster and more efficiently into going out of business forever.