Franchise Facts Report → brands → Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema franchise — is it worth it?
Risk level — in the report
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is a food and beverage concept with a substantial initial investment ranging from $5M to $8M.
Unlock what the free page above only hints at:
- The actual Item 19 earnings — reported average unit revenue, not just “disclosed.”
- How it compares — every number ranked against food & beverage peers (median & quartile).
- Litigation detail — each case, franchisee vs. corporate, with summaries.
- Outlet churn & the questions to ask — behind the net change above: closures, terminations, transfers, and what to put to the franchisor.
Figures above are as disclosed in Alamo Drafthouse Cinema's most recent FDD (registered 2024). Source: California Dept. of Financial Protection and Innovation — Franchise Registration · filing app-28458. The risk level, the Item 19 figures, how it compares to peers, and the litigation & churn detail are in the full report.
How much does a Alamo Drafthouse Cinema franchise make?
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is one of the franchisors that answers this on the record: its most recent FDD makes an Item 19 financial performance representation — actual unit earnings figures, disclosed by the franchisor itself. The average revenue Alamo Drafthouse Cinema reports, what that figure does and doesn't include, and where it ranks against food & beverage peers are in the full report. See every food & beverage brand that discloses earnings in the Food & beverage franchises with disclosed Item 19 earnings ranking.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema franchise profit vs. revenue
Revenue is not profit. An Item 19 almost always reports sales — what a location takes in — not what an owner keeps. Out of that number come the royalty, the ad fund, rent, payroll, supplies and debt service. No FDD tells you a Alamo Drafthouse Cinema franchise's profit, because profit depends on your site, your rent and how you run it — so treat any "Alamo Drafthouse Cinema franchise profit" figure quoted elsewhere as someone's estimate, not a disclosure. The full report sets Alamo Drafthouse Cinema's disclosed revenue against its total ongoing fee load, so you can see what that revenue has to cover before anything reaches you.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)
We do not publish a litigation answer for Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. Item 3 could not be read reliably from this particular filing, and a claim that a company has no legal history is not one to make on a failed parse — so we say we do not know instead. Item 3 of the FDD itself is the place to check; the methodology page explains what we do and do not machine-read.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema closures & failure rate
Before you sign, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema will hand you a list of current owners to call as references — and they choose who's on that list. It won't include the owners who quit, got bought out, or were forced out last year. The FDD does report that number, even though the reference list leaves those people off. Below is what Alamo Drafthouse Cinema's most recent filing shows, and whether it's normal for a food & beverage of this kind.
The closest thing an FDD has to a failure rate is Item 20 — outlet openings, closures, terminations and non-renewals, reported by the franchisor. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema's latest tables show a stable franchised network. The actual closure and termination counts, and how Alamo Drafthouse Cinema's churn ranks against food & beverage peers, are in the full report.
The actual Item 19 earnings, every figure ranked against food & beverage peers, litigation and churn detail — emailed as a PDF.
Who owns Alamo Drafthouse Cinema?
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema's franchise is offered by Alamo Intermediate II Holdings, LLC — the franchisor named on the cover of its most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2024), and the entity a franchisee actually signs with. That name comes straight off the filing at CA DFPI; it identifies the franchisor, not necessarily the ultimate parent company behind it.
Food & beverage franchises at a similar investment level
Anyone weighing Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is really weighing it against the other brands their money could go into. These are the closest by total initial investment (FDD Item 7), each with its own FDD-based page.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema franchise — frequently asked
Who owns Alamo Drafthouse Cinema — who is the franchisor?
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema's most recently filed FDD (2024) names Alamo Intermediate II Holdings, LLC as the franchisor — the entity you would actually sign the franchise agreement with, as stated on the disclosure document itself. A registry filing names the franchisor, not necessarily its ultimate parent company.
How much does a Alamo Drafthouse Cinema franchise cost?
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema's most recently filed FDD (Item 7) puts the total estimated initial investment at $5,048,133 – $8,194,684. That price is the franchisor's own estimate of what it takes to open, not a quote. The full report breaks down every fee line and benchmarks it against food & beverage peers.
How much profit does a Alamo Drafthouse Cinema franchise make?
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema discloses unit earnings in Item 19, but that figure is revenue — sales — not profit. Royalties, the ad fund, rent, payroll and supplies all come out of it, and no FDD discloses what an owner nets. Any Alamo Drafthouse Cinema franchise profit number quoted elsewhere is an estimate. The full report shows the disclosed revenue against the full ongoing fee load it has to cover.
Does Alamo Drafthouse Cinema disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
Yes — Alamo Drafthouse Cinema reports unit-level earnings in Item 19. The full report shows the actual revenue figures and how they rank against food & beverage peers.
Are there lawsuits against Alamo Drafthouse Cinema?
We do not publish a litigation answer for Alamo Drafthouse Cinema: Item 3 could not be read reliably from this filing, and we would rather say so than assert a clean record we have not verified. Item 3 of the FDD itself is the place to check.
Is Alamo Drafthouse Cinema a good franchise to buy?
That comes down to how Alamo Drafthouse Cinema's investment, earnings, litigation and franchisee churn stack up against food & beverage peers — which is exactly what the full report answers. For $99 you get the risk level and what's driving it, the actual Item 19 earnings (disclosed in this FDD), where every figure ranks against peers, and the specific questions to ask the franchisor before you sign.
Everything the sections above point to, in one place: Alamo Drafthouse Cinema's risk level and what's driving it, the actual Item 19 earnings, every figure ranked against food & beverage peers, and the litigation & churn detail — with the questions to put to the franchisor before you sign.
Get a free email when something changes on Alamo Drafthouse Cinema or food & beverage: a new FDD registration, a new lawsuit, an outlet count that shifts, or Item 19 earnings going from undisclosed to disclosed. Pulled straight from the same registries every report is built on.