Movies with Friends

New app arrives in Dallas to make moviegoing more social

Studio Movie Grill, theater, crowd, watching a movie

Getting your tickets and food at Studio Movie Grill, AMC Theatres, or Regal Cinemas is now a bit easier thanks to the Atom Tickets app.

Studio Movie Grill/Facebook

For many people, going to the movies is inherently a social activity. Now, a new app is aiming to make the social aspect of moviegoing a little easier.

Atom Tickets, a new theatrical mobile ticketing platform and app, is now available to moviegoers in a variety of cities around the country, including Dallas and Houston. While not available for all theater chains, it will initially allow you to buy tickets for movies at Studio Movie Grill, AMC Theatres, and Regal Cinemas.

Much like Fandango, Atom Tickets helps you check show times and order tickets quickly. What sets it apart is the ability to easily connect with friends. You can invite friends to join you at a movie via Facebook or your contact lists, tagging them so they know when and where the movie is. Even better, you can pre-pay for concession items, allowing you to skip the line at the theater.

Ticket and concession purchases will appear on your phone as QR codes, so you can easily scan the codes at the theater, get your tickets and food, and go.

To celebrate the local launch of the app, moviegoers will get their first movie ticket purchased through the Atom Tickets app for free. Atom Tickets, which previously launched in Los Angeles/Southern California, Atlanta, and Nashville, as well as select theaters across the U.S. and Canada, will be live nationwide by the end of summer 2016.

The app is available for free on the Apple App Store and Google Play. It also provides reviews, trailers, and synopses of movies to help make moviegoing decisions easier.

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This week's hot headlines

Deep Ellum bar's closure leads this week's 5 most-read Dallas stories

On Premise

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Editor's note: Two big closures rocked the Dallas restaurant and bar scene this week. There was also an intriguing home for sale on Dallas' ritziest road, a new barbecue joint with an unusual focus, and more. Here's a look back at the top stories of the week. Looking for the best things to do this weekend? Those are here.

1. Dallas bar closes after surviving a decade in Deep Ellum. A Dallas bar that opened 10 years ago in Deep Ellum has closed its doors: On Premise, which rode a decade-long wave in the often-turbulent neighborhood, closed on October 31.

2. Authentic upscale Mexican restaurant at Turtle Creek Dallas closes. In major bummer Dallas restaurant news, authentic Mexican restaurant Jalisco Norte has closed: The upscale restaurant and bar at Turtle Creek Village clocked out after seven years.

3. Dallas and Austin are facing the same kind of housing issues. The state’s housing crisis is effectively a new problem for state and local leaders — mainly because, for the longest time, Texas used to be cheap. "YIMBY" activists in Dallas have pushed local leaders, with mixed results, to embrace the idea that the country’s ninth-largest city should make it easier to build homes besides standalone single-family homes on large lots and big apartment buildings.

4. 50s Dallas home for sale on swanky Strait Lane still has pink bathroom. A house on Dallas' Strait Lane that is possibly home to the last '50s-era pink bathroom on the tony thoroughfare is up for sale. The bathroom's days are probably numbered — but maybe in this one case, it's not a bad thing.

5. Barbecue spot Kafi BBQ coming to Irving will be smoking halal Wagyu. A barbecue restaurant with an unusual focus is coming to Irving: Kafi BBQ, which specializes in halal Wagyu beef, will open at 8140 N. MacArthur Blvd. #100, Valley Ranch, in the former Rafikiz Bar and Grill.