Remember the Alamo … Drafthouse, when it was independently owned? Not anymore, as Sony Pictures has purchased the company. Read about it in Variety.

This likely would not have happened if the historic Paramount Decree, a 1948 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that broke up the partnerships between studios and cinemas, had not been allowed to sunset in 2020. Though both Netflix and Disney own theaters, this new Sony-Alamo deal represents the most significant union of movie production and movie distribution since Hollywood’s golden age.

Though Sony has pledged that Alamo Drafthouse cinemas will continue to screen content from all distributors, the deal has fans worried. But perhaps there’s a silver lining: After filing for bankruptcy in 2021, the company canceled expansion plans and closed some existing cinemas. (The total is now 36.) With Sony investment behind it, let’s hope that Orlando and Kansas City, among other places, will once again remember the Alamo in a good way.

For more information on Alamo Drafthouse, visit Wikipedia. And for more about the 2021 bankruptcy that led to the cinema canceling plans for its Orlando location, go here.