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This might be the safest way to see a movie in a theater these days

Alamo Drafthouse is allowing moviegoers to rent out entire theaters for trusted friends and family.

Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, generational studies. Credentials
  • Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year"​ award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Gael Cooper
jurassic-park-t-rex

Theatergoers who rent a screening room can choose from older films such as Jurassic Park, and newer movies, including Tenet.

Universal Pictures

Tired of watching movies at home during the coronavirus outbreak? The Texas-based Alamo Drafthouse theater chain has a novel solution. The chain is offering a program called Your Own Private Alamo, where moviegoers can book their own screenings of both new and classic films, essentially renting out the entire theater and inviting only people they trust.

Prices to rent out a screening room begin at $150, though Entertainment Weekly notes that there's another $150 minimum applied toward the group's food and drink, which are served by mask-wearing employees. 

A representative for Alamo Drafthouse didn't immediately respond to a request for comment, but Kristin Wheaton, senior director of venue experience for the chain, told Entertainment Weekly that over 700 groups of families and coworkers booked private showings at just a handful of theaters. An Alamo spokesperson told EW that the average rental group is 10 people, or $15 per ticket for admission, not including the food minimum, which would add another $15 per person for  a group of 10. The rental program now includes theaters in 12 states.

"We're glad to be getting back to what we love to do – bringing you the best of film, food, and drink," a message on the theater chain's site reads. "This next phase will be different from what we're all used to. It won't always be ideal. But if we all continue to do our part, it won't be forever."

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