Alamo Drafthouse Beats Oprah
Texas favorite trounces Oprah on list of world's most innovative companies
In life, there are small victories, like scoring the primo seat in a movie theater, and big victories, like beating Oprah on a listicle. Austin-based Alamo Drafthouse has just scored a big victory.
The movie theater chain, which recently announced its fourth Dallas-Fort Worth location, ranks No. 5 among the world's top 10 most innovative companies of 2015 in Hollywood — well ahead of Oprah's OWN Network, which lands at No. 9. (Though, we'd like to note, it's impossible to truly be better than Oprah.)
The Drafthouse sits among some heavy-hitters on Fast Company's annual roundup. The top five companies responsible for redefining entertainment are HBO, Netflix, Marvel, Comedy Central and ... Alamo Drafthouse.
"The Austin-based cinema chain's intense focus on quality and the customer experience — there is a strict no-talking and no-texting policy, and beer and food are delivered to people's seats — has made Alamo a darling among film lovers," writes Fast Company.
Film lovers across America will soon find out why. According to Fast Company, the theater chain hopes to have 50 cinemas open across the country by 2017. And it's not just the theater experience that helped secure the No. 5 spot. The magazine also points to the success of founder/CEO Tim League's other endeavors under the Drafthouse brand, including Drafthouse Films, Mondo and Fantastic Fest.