On a trip to Miami I went to see Project Hail Mary. The cinema had a waiting room, a kitchen and waiters.
Waiters. In the cinema.
Turns out it’s a whole format: the dine-in theater. Rows of seats with a little table in front and an aisle behind so staff can bring you dinner (alcohol included) while the film runs. Alamo Drafthouse popularised it in Austin in 1997: you write your order on a slip of paper and the waiter picks it up without blocking the screen. It did well enough that Sony bought the chain in 2024. Then there’s the luxury tier (iPic: recliners, blanket and pillow, chef’s menu) and the Mexican chains, CMX and Cinépolis. CMX opened its flagship in Miami’s Brickell City Centre in 2017.
The other thing that caught my eye: nobody checked my ticket. That one is just my experience, I haven’t found anything saying it’s the norm (probably everyone books a numbered seat online and the door stopped mattering). If you know, tell me.
Popcorn was the entry-level version all along.