Alamo Drafthouse is offering up the most excellent news! BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC will screen for free at Alamo Drafthouse locations for free on August 26, 2020, a day before the film hits select theaters and VOD.
Alamo Drafthouse has been closed for five long months in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The popular venue will begin to reopen their doors in select locations on August 26, 2020, and plans to reopen more venues in the following weeks. CEO Shelli Taylor had this to say about the reopening:
"We are incredibly excited to welcome everyone back to Alamo Drafthouse. ‘Tenet,’ ‘The New Mutants’ and ‘Bill & Ted Face the Music’ are made for the big screen experience. We’ve all dearly missed going to the movies, and with our many enhanced safety protocols we feel that we can come together again confidently and securely."
BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC is one of many films that has seen its release dates shifted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was ultimately decided that instead of debuting exclusively in theaters, it will simultaneously launch on premium video-on-demand and in cinemas on August 27, 2020. VP Steve Bunnell of Alamo Drafthouse spoke more about the free BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC screenings:
“Our guests love the guys from Wyld Stallyns, so that’s why we’re stoked to be the first theater company to show ‘Bill & Ted Face the Music’ — one day early and for free."
Alamo Drafthouse has worked around the clock to ensure its locations will be “safer than a supermarket” upon reopening. Among the new health and safety procedures, the movie theater chain will be increasing physical-distancing measures, implementing enhanced cleaning protocols, and temporarily altering its foodservice model. Additionally, guests will be required to wear masks, something Alamo Drafthouse said they would be doing first when AMC, Regal, and Cinemark initially decided their guests would not have to. I believe Alamo Drafthouse mandating masks at their locations is what prompted the other chains to follow suit.
Along with the new releases, Alamo is offering two programs inspired by the pandemic that will feature popular catalog titles. The first, called “Making Up for Lost Time,” will highlight movies about time travel, time machines, and time warps. The lineup includes INCEPTION, BACK TO THE FUTURE, and DONNIE DARKO, among others. The other program is called “Masks,” a nod to the pandemic’s infamous accessory. Drafthouse is celebrating masked heroes and villains alike, in offerings such as 1989’s BATMAN, SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, MAD MAX: FURY ROAD and THE MASK OF ZORRO.
Will you be checking out a free screening of BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC at an Alamo Drafthouse near you?