“The Force is calling to you. Just let it in.” That is the plea that ends the first trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Well, one theater took that instruction to heart. And it will make you jealous that you won’t be in Omaha, Nebraska on December 18, when the movie hits theaters.
Per EW, a theater operated by the Alamo Drafthouse has upped the ante on Star Wars fever. The movie theater has completely embraced the theme of Star Wars, with every aspect of its exterior and interior devoted to the classic franchise. Check out the images below:
The Alamo’s Omaha team said in a statement,
“We wanted to construct and install a lobby theme that would make us unique in our Omaha market as well as the midwest. We also wanted a theme that was built around an iconic film and to completely own that theme to immerse our guests in the experience. That is when Star Wars came into the picture and it just so happened that we timed it out just right with the announcement of the huge plans for a new Star Wars legacy starting this December. It is a permanent installation and will be the destination to see all of the new Star Wars films.”
While I’m a little skeptical that the timing “just so happened,” it doesn’t take away the impressiveness of the layout. They definitely captured that uniqueness they were going for. If you’re going to build a theater with an iconic film as the theme, Star Wars isn’t a bad place to start, regardless of whether a new film is coming out (though that helps).
It’s actually a rather interesting idea to embrace a theme and immerse a theater in that theme, designing and installing the lobby, concessions, and architecture with memorable and iconic images from the specific film. Now, whether or not this is a one-off idea or a new business model is to be determined. I think it could serve as another way to get people back into theaters. Of course, the chosen theme matters a lot—what if people don’t like the theme, or get sick of it, so don’t want to go to a theater where they’d be surrounded by it? Also, not every iconic film is suitable for such a treatment. So while there are some pitfalls to such an idea, I imagine this specific theater will be just fine, and it’ll be interesting to see if Alamo Drafthouse sees fit to continue this idea by equipping other theaters in a similar fashion.
What movie-themed theater would you like to see?
